Random Shenanigans
by Written-Violinist
Summary: #34: "… If you had to choose between the two most important people in the world to save, would you? Or would one of them have to make the decision for you because they knew that you would save the other over them…?"
1. Christmas Party

_Hey, everyone! So I decided to go back, delete all of my short stories on here, and repost them in a collection! It's the only way for me to keep them straight, because I'm very picky about my stories being organized. There will be a mix of everything in here, from romance to adventure to suspense to just plain random. Some of them will include OCs. I also take requests, so if you want a story written, I'll be happy to write it!_

_Sooo here's the first short story! Enjoy!_

**Christmas Party**

Robyn blew out a soft breath once she set the plate of mint chip cookies down. She had finally finished baking the last of the food for her annual holiday party. A good thing, too- her back was beginning to hurt from standing for at least five hours.

Sonic came in at that moment, his quills dripping with water and a towel tied around his waist. "Mmm… that all smells delicious."

He came closer and wrapped his arms around the fox's waist. "Though not as delicious as you… I'm tempted to eat you all up!"

Robyn giggled and gently eased herself out of his grasp. "Easy, Sonic… I haven't had my shower yet. You're getting me wet."

Sonic chuckled. "I take it that you're going to break out the special holiday scents?"

Robyn winked. "You'll see."

**-XxXxX-**

Five hours later, the party had started. Robyn had turned the lights on, so the mansion looked festive inside and out. Portable tables covered with plates of food were in various rooms of the mansion. Best of all, however, was Robyn's huge Christmas tree in the family room, covered with lights, ornaments, garland, and the special angel that she and Tails had made to honor the friends that had been lost throughout the years.

"Once again, Robyn wins for best house," Silver chuckled.

Robyn laughed and hugged him. "Thanks, Silver."

"Not to mention best dressed," Shadow said, eyeing the fox in a glittery strapless red dress with matching elbow-length gloves.

Sonic slid his arm around Robyn's waist. "Agreed, but she's mine."

The others chuckled. Robyn took a moment to look around the room. A lot of her friends were there- just a few were absent. "Hmm…"

"What is it, Momma?" Kelly asked as she walked over to the fox.

Robyn glanced at the clock, and then at her pretend daughter. "Some people are late."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Robyn went to answer the door while the others watched curiously. The newcomers were a male wolf hybrid, a black cat, and a male deer hybrid, all dressed for the occasion.

"DADDY!" Kelly squealed as she bolted forward and tackled the wolf hybrid.

Kota smiled and returned her embrace. "Hey, Kels."

"What about me?" the black cat demanded as she hopped onto the echidna's head.

Kelly giggled and petted her. "Sorry, 'Auntie' Noname."

Then she hugged the deer hybrid. "Hi, Blaine."

"Hiiiiiiiii~" he sang, all the while eyeing Shadow from across the room.

Kelly giggled again and dragged her pretend dad over to Robyn, who had walked back to Sonic and some of the others. "Hi, again!"

"About time, Kota!" Robyn grinned as she hugged him.

He chuckled. "Sorry. Blaine insisted on looking nice."

The small group glanced over at the deer hybrid, who was following an annoyed Shadow around like a lost puppy. He mouthed "I'll get you for this!" at Kota as he left the room. The wolf decided to ignore him as he turned back to Robyn.

"Um… is Elaine here?" he asked curiously.

Before the fox could answer, a loud whistle intervened. "Whoa! Coming from the guy who insists that he's not crushing on the lady wolf herself!"

"Oh, shut up, Zoey," Kota replied irritably as the red fox walked over to them.

She grinned. "What? I'm just saying…"

"Zoey, be nice," Robyn said sternly.

Then she gestured towards the stairs. "I think she's in her room… the room right below the attic."

Kota nodded. "Okay."

**-XxXxX-**

The hybrid paused once he reached Elaine's room. He took a deep breath before knocking on her door. "Um… Elaine? Are you in there?"

A loud THUD followed. "Ow… damn… yes, I'm in here."

He opened the door carefully and stared. Stuff had been carelessly tossed around the room, like books, papers, and several weapons, including Elaine's two swords and bow. Several pairs of shoes were sitting on a medium-sized bed with a plan white bed set. He then turned his attention to the female hybrid herself, who was lying on the floor in a silver dress and a small black sweater. Her blonde hair-which was usually quite unruly- had been somewhat straightened. And, GASP- she was wearing makeup!

"E-Elaine… what the hell happened?" Kota asked as he came in and pulled her to her feet.

"Are you referring to the thud or to me?" she shot back cockily.

"…Both," he replied.

"The thud was me falling over because of these damn heels," she said irritably as she yanked a pair of strappy silver high heels off of her feet. "As for me in general… Robyn insisted that I be a little more… formal."

With a sigh, she tossed the heels into a corner and smoothed her dress down. Kota waited until she had turned back to him before tipping her chin up a little. "Well… I think you look nice. It's… something different."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile. "But you're going to have to excuse me for a second."

**-XxXxX-**

When she returned from the bathroom a minute later, Kota noticed that she had washed the makeup off and had slipped her regular knee-length black boots on. "Heh…"

"What?" she chuckled.

He put his hands on her slender shoulders. "You look more like Elaine now."

She smiled up at him- and noticed the mistletoe. Her brown eyes widened as she pointed at it. "What the…?"

He looked up as well and immediately took a step back. "Holy…"

The female hybrid growled and went to step outside her door. "REALLY, GUYS? MISTLETOE?"

All she heard in return was several bursts of laughter. Growling, she went back into the room and found Kota shaking his head. "I'm going to kill them…"

Despite the fact that he was a bit annoyed as well, he managed to emit a chuckle. "Save it until after the party… I don't think Robyn would be too pleased if we ruined her hard work."

Elaine sighed and stood in front of him again. She glanced up at the mistletoe again. "…Should we…?"

Kota brought a hand up and tipped her chin down. His crimson eyes were uncharacteristically soft upon meeting her brown ones. "If you want to…"

She stared up at him. A small smile was curling the corners of his lips. She emitted a soft chuckle before reaching up and pressing her lips to his. Kota smiled inwardly. He had kind of expected that. He had already shared a kiss with the female hybrid… it had been bound to happen again. With that thought out of the way, he returned the kiss, aware of the chagrin rushing to his cheeks and his ears pinning to his head. The rest of his senses were also tuned in- there was a small scent of cinnamon and vanilla about Elaine, and he could feel her pressing closer to him, as if afraid to let go.

He pulled away first, averting his gaze somewhat and trying to reduce the blush. Elaine smiled tenderly once she caught his gaze again before resting her head on his chest. Their arms gradually found their way around each other. They stood there for a while, enjoying each other's presence while the party went on without them.

**THE END**


	2. Fear and Freedom

_Here's the next one!_

_Pairings: Slight SonOC._

**Fear and Freedom**

_-Robyn's POV-_

Fear is gripping me to the bone. More lightning flashes across the sky outside, and my two older sisters jump. They've always been a little fidgety, especially Celine, but our current predicament makes it a lot worse.

"Robyn… any idea what we're gonna do when Aero comes back in?" Celine asks me.

I sigh. "For once… I don't know."

Alustriel tries to reach for her government-licensed laser gun. However, it's in her back pocket, so she can't reach it. Celine and I watch her for half a moment before she gives up- again.

"Grr! I'm one of the top ninja spies in the country, yet I can't break free!" she growls.

"You know Aero. He always has a trick up his sleeve," I say grimly.

"That I do," a deep voice says from the doorway.

We turn our heads to see Aero smirking at us. "Aero!"

"Enjoying your stay?" he asks slyly.

I growl something incoherent under my breath. Celine and Alussie glare poison darts at him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Aero chuckles, thinking this as a joke.

"When can we leave?" Alussie asks icily.

Aero steps closer. "As soon as Robyn gives me what I want."

I blink. "What do you want from me?"

He kneels down and props my chin up with his index finger. "The same thing that I have desired since day one... for you to be mine."

Because my ankles and wrists are tied up, I can't cause him any pain. I grit my teeth and shoot daggers at him with my eyes. "I'd rather die than be with you."

A wicked smile pulls at the corners of his lips. "Oh, really?"

The daggers turn to swords. I growl at him, signifying my words. He grins and starts pulling me closer to him.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Celine and Alussie shout.

It's too late. Aero's lips have instantly glued themselves to my resisting ones. I try to pull away from him, but he places a hand on the back of my head, rendering me totally powerless. Then he moves his free hand down and begins to unbutton my blouse…

"Aero, get your hands OFF my sister, or there WILL be hell to pay!"

A new feminine voice rings out from above us. Aero pulls away from me in surprise. We all look up to see a slender red fox with raging blue eyes standing by a window on top of some boxes.

"ZOEY!" Celine, Alussie, and I cry.

"Zoey," Aero breathes.

Zoey jumps down from the window gracefully. She brushes a strand of hair from her eyes, puts her hands on her hips, and glares at Aero.

He is smirking again. "So nice of you to join us, Zoey."

"Let them go, Aero." There is no mistaking the fury in my sister's tone.

"I'll let them go when Robyn gives me what I want," he says.

That does it for Zoey. She lunges at Aero with a shriek. He looks surprised as she tackles him. The two begin rolling around on the tile floor, throwing blows at each other. I glance at Alussie and Celine and give them the "This is our chance" look. They nod in agreement. We begin flexing our hands and ankles, squirming as the ropes gradually begin to break. I'm free first, which gives me the chance to hop up and help my sisters.

Zoey backflips over to us as soon as I help Celine up. Her hair is hanging in front of her eyes, which are still raging with fury. Yikes. I don't think that I've ever since her this mad before.

Aero stands up. He winces as he grabs his arm. His left eye is a brilliant shade of purple, and his lower lip is bleeding. Sucker.

I turn to Zoey. "Nice job. Mind if we help?"

She grins. "Be my guests."

I frontflip over to him and punch him in the nose. Alussie whips her gun out and shoots his hand. Then Celine surprises him from behind while Zoey tackles him and pins him down.

I kneel down and catch his gaze. "Face it, Aero. With the four of us, you can't win."

He smirks. "That's what you think, my dear girl."

Suddenly, he kicks Zoey in the stomach and jumps up. My surprised sister is thankfully caught by Alussie. She helps Zoey keep her balance before growling at Aero, who has run over to the door.

He smirks again as he hits a red button. "You may have escaped, but I have the victory. There is no way that you can escape in the next fifteen seconds. Goodbye, ladies."

He holds up the red Chaos Emerald and vanishes. Then the building begins shaking. We can hear explosions coming from upstairs. The ceiling and walls begin crumbling around us.

"WHAT DO WE DO?" I scream.

"Now, guys!" Zoey barks into her communicator watch, undaunted by our current situation.

The far wall suddenly explodes as two spinning blurs break in. They stop in front of us to reveal an emerald-eyed cobalt hedgehog and a crimson-eyed ebony hedgehog.

"Shadow!" Celine exclaims.

"Sonic!" I cry.

Sonic grins at us. "Hey, ladies. Need a hand?"

"You bet!" we chorus.

Sonic nods. "Ready to go in three… two… one!"

We take off in bursts of speed. As soon as we are a few yards away, the warehouse blows up. We skid to a stop and turn around to watch it go up in flames. It crackles and falls apart.

Sonic grabs my hand. "You okay?"

I nod. "Zoey got there just in time."

Zoey grins before pointing to three motorcycles sitting at the edge of the road. "Let's head home, guys. I'm ready to party now."

Everyone laughs as they head for the motorcycles. Shadow gets on a black one and hands a helmet to Celine. She grins as she sits behind him and puts it on. Zoey gets on a fire-red one and motions to Alussie as she tosses the helmet. Alussie catches it flawlessly and sits behind Zoey.

That leaves me with Sonic.

He gets on a blue motorcycle and grins as he tosses me a helmet. I catch it and grin back at him. I put it on and sit behind him. He immediately turns around, takes my hands, and places them around him. I grin as one of my hands begin poking him in the stomach.

He emits a throaty growl. "You're getting it when we get back."

I chuckle. "Then hurry, Your Majesty. Zoey and Shadow are beating us."

He blinks as he realizes that Zoey and Shadow are already a mile down the road. Then he growls, puts his feet on the pedals, and starts the engine. We immediately take off. I grin as I cuddle closer to him. Ahh, sweet freedom.

**THE END**


	3. Don't Leave Me Now

_I think I mentioned some time ago that most of these were written about a year ago, when Robyn was my main character. Anyways… enjoy!_

**Don't Leave Me Now**

_-Sonic's POV-_

I stare down at her. She is laying on the ground beside me, choking and grabbing her stomach in total agony. The blood gushing from the wound on her stomach has a purplish tint.

_The Starfire…!_

My eyes widen. If the Starfire leaves her, she'll die. Not only is she the guardian of it, but it is the source of her life. Without it, she can't survive.

"Robyn!" I throw myself beside her.

She looks up at me, her eyes welling up with tears. "Sonic…"

She chokes again. My heart drops into my stomach as more blood explodes from her mouth. I'm getting it on myself, but I don't care. All I can focus on are her eyes, her beautiful jade eyes, the ones that always held warmth for me. If they closed… I would lose their love forever.

Her choking slows. I rush to put my hand to her heart. It is barely beating… which can only mean one thing.

My eyes begin welling up with tears. "Robyn… no…"

Her eyes are still locked on mine. "Sonic… I… I love you…"

My eyes widen as she says those three words. The three words that I never thought that I would hear from her. She takes one last breath, and goes utterly still. Something falls from her hand before I can even begin crying. I lean over and pick it up.

It's her locket. The holder of the Starfire Diamonds and the Starfire itself. I touch it with my free hand. I examine the seven diamonds in their slots. I finger the clasp, wondering if I should put it around her neck.

That's when it hits me.

I undo the clasp and put the locket around her neck. Then I pull out the seven Chaos Emeralds. They start glowing as they react with the diamonds. I don't dare breathe as they begin circling her. She starts glowing as the emeralds begin glowing at maximum power. All of the blood that she has lost disappears, along with the wound on her stomach. I continue to hold my breath, anxiously waiting for something to happen. The emeralds flash once more and disappear. Robyn is now laying on the ground in front of me, blood and wound free.

I touch her face. "Robyn…"

She doesn't move. She is a still as a stone. Did my plan not work? I grab her shoulders and begin shaking her, trying anything and everything to wake her up. She can't be dead.

"Please, Robyn! I need you! I need only you! You're my whole reason for living! I… I love you, too!" I cry.

Her locket begins glowing again, as if reacting to my words. For a moment, I don't move. I hold my breath again and wait.

Finally… she stirs and opens her eyes very slowly. To my great relief, they are still that beautiful jade color. "Uuhhhhhhhh…"

"Robyn," I whisper.

She finds my gaze and smiles. "Sonic…"

I stare at her for a minute, unable to speak. Then I pull her into my arms and crush her against me. "Thank Chaos…"

Her voice is muffled. "Sonic… I can't breathe."

I loosen my grip. "Sorry."

She looks up at me. Her eyes are twinkling with something I can't read. I smile as I push her bangs out of her eyes. Then my mind takes over and I find myself pressing my lips to hers. She is startled at first, but she gradually relaxes. I kiss her for a long moment, never wanting to let go of her. This is the moment that I've been waiting for ever since I realized that I am in love with her.

The two of us are there for a while, watching the stars and being close. It is kind of strange to consider her mine, but that is what she is. Mine.

**THE END**


	4. I'll Be With You Always

_This one is a recent one. I was reading a story somewhere (it may have been on here) where Tails was severely depressed about Cosmo's death. So I decided to write a little piece where Tails learns that there is someone that he can always count on_

**I'll Be With You Always**

Robyn hummed as she set another plate down gently on the huge marblestone table. It was another typical night in the Prower household- Robyn was making dinner while everyone else was slacking off. Not that the grey fox minded, though- she actually preferred to do the cooking herself, especially after Sonic had blown up the oven several times…

The thought allowed a chuckle to escape her lips. She shook her head before putting her lungs into two words: "CHOW TIME!"

Within minutes, the room was filled with various occupants of the mansion. Another few minutes went by, and nearly everyone had gathered around the table in the dining room. Robyn found herself beside Sonic- and an empty chair.

Before she could ask the others about it, Sonic turned to her with a snarky grin. "… 'Chow time'? What are we, puppies?"

Robyn laughed. "Yes. You all are my little puppies who I must care for or you'll blow up my oven."

Silver snorted. "Come on… that was Sonic's fault."

"Hey, Knuckles told me to put that tin of potatoes in there!" the blue hero protested.

"Yeah, but Shadow told me to tell you!" Knuckles retorted.

Shadow smirked. Zoey laughed and shook her head. "All right, children. Calm down."

"Hey… where's Tails?" Aliana asked suddenly.

All eyes shifted around the room. Sure enough, the young kitsune wasn't to be seen. Murmurs of "Tails?" and "Where is he?" rippled through the room. Then they heard a small "ahem" from the doorway. Their attention switched from the empty chair to a slender blue fox with her arms crossed. "Robyn, Tails wants to speak with you."

Robyn frowned. "What? Right now?"

"Yes. Right now," Alustriel answered passively.

With narrowed eyes and a confused expression, Robyn stood up and headed for the stairs. Once she was out of sight, Alussie took her place at the table and began stabbing her pasta with her fork. A sigh escaped her lips, which caused the others to glance over at her.

"What's wrong, Ace?" Amy asked.

The blue fox gingerly put her fork down. Glancing around at her curious friends, she uttered one name.

"Cosmo."

**-XxXxX-**

Robyn paused outside of her brother's door and took a deep breath. She raised a fist and knocked on the wooden door. "Tails?"

"Come in, big sis," Tails answered.

He sounded a little melancholy. Concerned, Robyn pushed the door open and found the young kitsune sitting by the window. "Are you all right, lil bro…?"

He sighed as he swung around and faced her. "No…"

The female fox walked over and sat on his bed, her jade eyes probing her brother's blue ones for an answer. "What's wrong?"

"…Cosmo," he choked before emitting a sob.

Robyn frowned, confused for a second. Then her eyes widened once they landed on Tails's calendar. "Oh no… it's-"

"Been a year," Tails interrupted with little wracking cries.

"Oh, Tails…" Robyn pulled her brother onto her lap and held him close. For a few minutes, they sat there. Tails cried and buried his face against Robyn's chest while she tried to soothe him with soft whispers of "Shh, shh" and stroked his bangs. Needless to say, it didn't work that much.

Finally, Tails looked up. "No one remembered… I spent all day dropping hints, and no one remembered…"

"Oh, darling…" There were a few tears in Robyn's eyes. "I had it marked so we could do something special… and the day somehow got away from me…"

"I miss her, big sis," Tails choked.

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too…" Robyn gently kissed the top of his head. "But… you know that girls will come and go. When it comes down to it at the end of the day…"

She tipped his chin up and smiled tenderly. "You'll always have me. Whether Zoey gets drunk beyond all possibilities, or Celine goes off and gets married, or Alussie gets sent off on a really long mission, or whoever else goes to do whatever else… I'll be with you, always. You're more important to me than anyone else in the whole universe."

"I love you too, big sis," Tails whispered through his smiling tears.

Robyn smiled and hugged him again. Then she patted him on the back and stroked his bangs. "Come on. What do you say to dinner and then going to see Cosmo's tree?"

Tails nodded. "Okay… together."

And that is exactly what the two siblings did. Together. Because nothing would break their bond of brother-sister love.

**THE END**


	5. Elaine's Birthday

_This one is also recent._

**Elaine****'s Birthday**

Elaine blinked as she was ushered into Zoey's room. Nearly all of the "adults" were in there, holding a glass of wine and smiling. "What's going on…?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Robyn squealed as she came forward and hugged the hybrid.

Elaine groaned. "I'm going to kill Skyler…"

"Actually… blame your creator," Sonic chuckled.

Elaine glared at the ceiling before turning her gaze to the other hybrid in the room. "Hi, Kota."

He smiled a bit in her direction. "Hello, Elaine. Happy birthday."

Elaine smiled her thanks. Zoey tsked in mock disbelief. "You only appreciate him wishing you a happy b-day? Tsk! Someone's crushing!"

The female hybrid blinked. "W-What…?"

Kota's face turned a little pink. Nonetheless, he tried to remain stern. "D-Don't be silly…"

"Denial~" Zoey sang. "That's the first sign! I think Kota should be the first to give Elaine a present."

Kota began stammering. "I… I d-don't have anything to give her…"

Zoey smirked. She stepped forward and pushed him towards the flustered female hybrid. "Sure you do!"

He almost stumbled into her, but managed to keep his balance. He gave the birthday girl an apologetic look before leaning in and gently kissing her on the forehead. As he did so, cheers erupted from the group behind them.

"I told you!" Zoey sang.

Kota shot her a Look. Then he turned back to see Elaine's face flushing controllably. She shook her head and quickly excused herself. Kota fired another Look at the still-smirking Zoey before following the female hybrid.

**-XxXxX-**

Elaine was sitting at the kitchen table when Kota came down. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Hi…"

She looked up. "Hey…"

He sighed as he sat beside her. "I apologize for that… that woman is-"

"Stubborn," Elaine finished dryly.

Kota chuckled. "…Yeah, pretty much."

The two sat there in silence for a moment. Then Noname came in and hopped onto the granite table. "Hi, you two. Do you need a distraction?"

"Yes," they chorused before abruptly glancing at each other.

"Well… we could put up the Christmas decorations for Robyn. She'd like that, seeing as she had everything else to deal with right now," Noname suggested.

Elaine's brown eyes lit up a bit. "I haven't done Christmas decorating in a long time… sign me up."

Kota nodded. "Sure, why not?"

**-XxXxX-**

Six hours later, Elaine collapsed in the snow. They had finally finished putting the lights up outside of the house. She was exhausted- her aching back justified that. "Phew…"

Kota walked over and joined her. "Finally…"

"No kidding," she agreed.

She stretched and laid there, ignoring the snow in her hair. Kota put his hands behind his head and chuckled. "…My snow angel looks like a devil, I'm sure…"

Elaine also chuckled a little. "I made them all the time with Skyler when we were younger… my mother usually took pictures…"

Her voice sounded a little… wistful. Kota glanced at her. Then he remembered her talking about her mother being killed just before her eighth (and Skyler's eleventh) birthday. With a gentle smile, he patted her arm. "I'm sure they were fun to look at…"

Then they both heard an excited mew. They sat up to see Noname sitting at a window in the family room. The black feline slowly disappeared from view upon receiving irritated Looks from the two hybrids.

Elaine sighed. "We might want to go somewhere else… the rest of the women will be at that window soon."

Kota nodded. "Good idea."

Elaine stood up and pulled Kota to his feet before heading inside. "TAILS!"

The kitsune came into view after a few seconds. "Yes, Elaine?"

"Can you get us out of here? We're about to attract a crowd of overly-hormonal women," Elaine said.

Tails laughed. "Sure. Where to?"

"Anywhere but here," the female hybrid replied as she and Kota followed him to the X Tornado.

**-XxXxX-**

They reached town within minutes- considering the fact that the closest town was just on the other side of the forest. Tails beamed as Elaine and Kota hopped out of the X Tornado. "I'll chill here until you're ready to head back."

"Thanks, Tails," Elaine said.

She and Kota set off into town. The female hybrid immediately shivered as a cold wind drifted through the air. "I should have bundled up a little more…" 

"Here," Kota said as he took her hand and rubbed it between his gloved hands.

She turned pink as he did the same with her other hand. "Um… thanks…"

He smiled and gently held her hand as they continued down the street. The female hybrid tried not to blush too much, but knowing Kota, he probably noticed.

When they stopped in front of a café, Kota turned to her. "Hungry?"

"A little," she admitted.

He reached for the door handle and opened it. He allowed her to go first, which earned him a smile of thanks. The gentle scent of sandwiches and drinks hit Elaine's sensitive nose, thus causing her stomach to growl quite loudly. "Whoa… I'm getting told off here."

Kota chuckled as he walked up to the cash register. "I'll have a water, please."

"Um… I'll have a ham sandwich and a water," Elaine said when Kota glanced at her.

The cashier punched it in. "$6.11."

Kota glanced at Elaine again. "Do you want me to pay?"

"Um, I can…" she managed.

He smiled a little. "I think I should. It's the gentleman thing to do."

Elaine watched in surprise as Kota paid for the drinks and the sandwich. Why was he acting like this? Suddenly, she had a feeling that two certain creators were up to something… **(Me/Rachel- Mwahahahahaha 3)**

She remained quiet as they headed outside. Kota glanced at her again when she took an absent bite of her sandwich. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," she murmured.

He nodded and took hold of her hand again, having noticed her shiver. The female hybrid' heart thumped a little against her ribcage- this was getting weird on Kota's part. All thoughts, however, disappeared from her mind when the fountain in the center of town suddenly came to life, as well as the lights on the surrounding buildings. Both hybrids paused and watched in awe. The place now glowed with lights in various colors, especially the fountain. The water flashed different colors every few seconds.

"Wow," Elaine breathed.

Kota nodded. "Agreed."

The two stood there in silence for a few minutes, simply observing their surroundings with wonder. Then Elaine broke the silence by clearing her throat. "I need to run to the store… I want to wish Ralph a Merry Christmas."

Kota remembered Ralph as the butcher from their last visit to the store. "All right."

**-XxXxX-**

"There's my favorite customer! How are ya, Elaine?" Ralph asked as the two hybrids walked up.

"I'm fine, Ralph. I wanted to drop by and wish you a Merry Christmas," Elaine replied.

"Aren't ya sweet… well, thank ya." Ralph then glanced at Kota. "Ah, and I remember ya from last time, though we never got introduced."

Kota nodded and extended his hand. "Kota Reiter. The pleasure's mine."

"Nice to meet ya, Kota. The name's Ralph," the butcher said as they shook hands.

Kota smiled and whispered something in Ralph's ear. He gestured to Elaine, who shot him a confused Look. The butcher grinned at her as Kota pulled back. "So it's your birthday?"

"Um… yes," she said slowly.

"Well, happy birthday." Ralph dug around in his pocket and pulled out a gift card. "Accept this as my gift."

"Oh… I couldn't…!" she protested.

He smiled as he took her hand and placed the card on her palm. "Take it. Please."

"Um…okay," she said weakly.

"You should be able to get anything you want with that… though there might be some limits," Ralph said.

"Okay. Thanks, Ralph," Elaine said as she turned around and began walking away.

Kota caught up to her after biding his own farewell to the butcher. "Any idea what you want…?"

She didn't answer. Her eyes were focused on the jewelry section. She headed there with Kota on her heel, looking curious. It wasn't long before Elaine was examining a display case up front. Several necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings glowed within their glass barrier. Her brown eyes fell upon a small, delicate silver ring with her birthstone –turquoise- in the shape of a snowflake. She observed it, not bothering to look at the other stuff.

Kota followed her gaze to the ring. "Is that it…?"

She nodded. Then her eyes fell upon the price, and she groaned. "Damn…"

"What is it?" Kota inquired.

Elaine gestured to the sticker. "$200… the gift card is only worth $100."

Kota smiled. "I can pay the other half…"

"Oh, Kota... I couldn't ask that," Elaine replied. "You've already done so much for me this evening."

He tipped her chin up, still smiling. "I don't mind. It's your birthday, and if you want that ring, then you should have it."

Elaine blinked. "O…Okay…"

Kota gave her a gentle nudge as he took the gift card. "Wait outside. I'll be just a minute."

**-XxXxX-**

When Kota came out of the store a few minutes later, he was carrying a small box- and something behind his back. Elaine raised an eyebrow. "What else did you get…?"

Kota smiled as he brought out a small purple chrysanthemum. Elaine's eyes widened in shock upon seeing her favorite flower. "What… how'd you-"

"Creators," he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes and turned pink as he tucked the flower behind her ear. Then he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her pinky finger. "There we go."

"T-thanks," she murmured.

He took her hand again as they headed back to Tails. Elaine's heart couldn't stop fluttering the whole way there. She was still quiet when they found the kitsune under the X Tornado.

"There you are! I was starting to get worried," Tails beamed as he slid out from underneath.

Then he sighed. "I think your creators are up to something… the wing randomly fell off and two of the tires blew out."

Kota rolled his eyes and went to sit on a bench as Tails slid back under the plane. Elaine joined him after a few seconds, staring at her ring. "…Thanks, Kota. This birthday wasn't so bad."

Kota glanced at her. "Really?"

"Yep," she murmured.

Silence again. Then the male hybrid sighed and slid his hand under his acquaintance's chin, coaxing her head towards him. "I… I think I know what the creators want…"

Her brown eyes widened. "W…What…?"

He smiled a little before leaning in and gently bringing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened a little more. This was what they wanted…? Normally she would have been pissed off. However, she took a second to consider the fact that she and Kota had gotten close lately. Maybe… he was the person who could bring her to her senses…?

She returned his kiss after a few seconds. They were quiet for at least three more seconds before they heard Tails emit a yelp of surprise. "WHOA! The X Tornado just fixed itself!"

Kota chuckled as he pulled back. "I told you."

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Creators…"

**THE END**


	6. He'd Do Anything

_This one is an old one. I was roleplaying with a friend, and she made me realize that Sonic would do anything for the people he cares about._

**He'd Do Anything**

_-Robyn's POV-_

I brush my hair away from my eyes as I step into the elevator. Not for the first time, I wonder whether or not I should be doing this. After all, it's my fault that one of my closest friends is here…

The elevator dings, and the doors open. I step out and head down the hallway, trying to find the room. To my relief, Tails is standing outside the room.

"Hi, big sis. He just woke up a minute ago. I told him that you were on your way," he smiles.

"Thanks, lil bro," I say as I hug him.

He gives me an encouraging pat on the back. I smile, take a huge breath, and step into the room. The blue hedgehog laying on the bed studies my face before smiling. "Robyn…"

"Sonic…" I walk over to him and kneel beside him. My hand reaches over and strokes his cheek.

He winces. I immediately pull back and study him. His broken arm is resting on one pillow while his broken leg is resting on another. His crutches are laying by his nightstand- not that he'll be using them any time soon, by the look of things.

My eyes well up. "Sonic… you're hurt… it's all my fault!"

Though I see a bit of pain in it, he smiles. "Robyn… relax…"

I take his hand. "Sonic… why?"

He doesn't answer me. His green irises are still locked on my face. My heart starts thumping against my ribcage.

I clear my throat. "Sonic… I could have handled Egghead's robot… why did you get in front of me?"

He inhales and exhales gingerly. "For a moment… I saw you about to die… My mind got hyped up and told me that I had to save you…"

My eyes well up again. "Aww… Sonic…"

He smiles and wipes the tears away with his free hand. "Robyn… relax. I'll be fine."

I nod. "Okay…"

He drops his hand. His eyes haven't averted from mine yet. "Robyn…"

I silence him by leaning in and giving him a gentle kiss. As if he expected this, he returns it. Once we pull away a few seconds later, I can finally feel the chagrin in my face.

I see the smirk on his face and chuckle. "Figures…"

He nods. "Yup."

For a moment, it is quiet. Then I notice that his eyelids are beginning to drop. Within another minute, he is fast asleep. I smile and kiss his cheek. I sit there for the rest of the afternoon, holding the hand of my friend and my hero.

**THE END**


	7. Robyn's Prank

_This one is somewhat old, somewhat recent. It's also one of my favorites xD I had fun writing it._

_Pairings: None, really._

**Robyn's Prank**

It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the grass was green…

… And Robyn was bored.

She stared up at the clear blue sky and emitting an exasperated sigh. It had been pretty quiet all day. Eggman was most likely planning his next attack in his secret base, wherever that was. Sonic and Shadow were racing each other, and only Chaos could tell what the others were up to.

The grey fox sat up just in time to see Zoey walk out of the house. "Hi, Zoe."

"You look bored," was Zoey's greeting.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Robyn said irritably.

"Sorry." Zoey came and sat beside her. "What do you want to do?"

"…I want to prank Sonic and Shadow," Robyn said suddenly.

Zoey blinked. "That was fast."

"Sonic promised me that he would hang out with me today, and then he ran off to race Shadow. So..."

"Lil Speedster. He can never stay down," Zoey sighed.

Robyn turned to her. "Will you help me with my prank?"

"Um… I kind of have things to do…"

"Pleeeeeeeeease, Zoey? You're the Queen of Pranks and Dares. I need a good one to scar them for life," Robyn pleaded.

Zoey grinned. "All right. And I do have one in mind…" 

She leaned over and began whispering in Robyn's ear. The grey fox nodded several times and her eyes widened a little. Once Zoey was finished, Robyn was grinning mischievously.

"I like it… this will definitely scar them for life," she said with a grin.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic growled as he stormed back towards the mansion. "Cheater."

Shadow smirked. "Face it, Faker. You aren't the fastest thing alive."

"You cheated."

Shadow rolled his eyes as he followed Sonic into the front yard. There, they found Robyn standing by the porch. "Hey, Robyn."

"Finally, you're back. Listen, I need some help with something," she said.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"Zoey will tell you. Sonic, wait here. Shadow, come with me," Robyn commanded.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at Sonic. The blue hedgehog shrugged. Shadow rolled his eyes again before following the grey fox inside.

Once they were inside, Robyn turned to him. Shadow studied her very quizzically. "Okay. What do you want?"

Robyn smiled a little. "Sorry about this, Shads… but…"

She paused as she whipped out the Knock-Out Ray that Tails had made. "I have to do something to you."

Before the ebony hedgehog could react, the grey fox fired a white beam at him. He hit the ground in unconsciousness within seconds.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic looked up and smiled as Zoey came out of the mansion. "Hi, Zoe."

Zoey grinned. "Hi, Speedster. Robyn told me to give you something…"

She whipped out the Knock-Out Ray. Sonic immediately took a step back, eyes widening. "W… What are you doing…?"

"Sorry, Sonikku," Zoey cooed. "But it has to be done."

She fired the white beam, and he fell into unconsciousness too.

**-XxXxX-**

Shadow fought his way to the surface. He was consumed by darkness. Naturally, he was annoyed. Robyn was going to get it.

He finally opened his eyes to see Robyn sitting on the bed, smiling. "Urgh…"

"Heeeeeeeeeey, sleepy head! That took you a while," she beamed.

"You're dead, Robyn," Shadow growled.

He tried to move towards her. However, he couldn't move. He looked down to see that he had been tied up. "What the?"

"Sorry, Shads. I can't have you killing me," Robyn said.

"I am going to kill you unless you tell me what it is that you're doing!" Shadow growled.

Robyn smiled innocently again. She stood up, walked over to him, and blindfolded him. "It'll be clear in a few minutes. Right now, I need you to work with me."

"Okay…"

He felt her gentle hands untie the rope after a few seconds. He immediately stood up. Her hands suddenly became firm. "Stay still."

A few seconds passed. Then he felt Robyn lift his left foot up and slide it into something soft- pants, maybe? "What the hell-"

"Shh," Robyn's voice soothed. "You have to trust me."

He grumbled something incoherent as she slid his other foot into the soft, velvet-like clothing. A few more seconds passed, and he felt her set straps on his shoulders. He felt his cheeks darken a little at the humiliation of being dressed like a doll. Robyn chuckled lightly as she lifted his arms and set something on his head. Something fell over his face. His nose twitched as it gently brushed against whatever it was.

Finally, he heard her take a step back. "And… voila! You are done!"

"Can I take the blindfold off now?" Shadow griped.

"Nope. I can't let you see yourself yet."

Shadow growled again. Robyn laughed as she grabbed his hand and began pulling him out of the room.

**-XxXxX-**

Meanwhile, Zoey was not having much luck on her end. Sonic kept squirming and moaning as she tried to dress him. "Zoey... what are you doing?"

"Dressing you, dope. Now shut up," Zoey commanded curtly as she tightened the belt around his waist.

He grumbled something as she lifted his arms and pulled a shirt over his head. Then she slid the coat on top of it, stepped back, and whistled. "Nice."

"Can I look now?" Sonic whined.

"Nope. C'mon."

She grabbed his hand and began pulling him into the hallway. As she did, she chuckled. "You're in for the surprise of your life…"

**-XxXxX-**

Robyn grinned as Zoey dragged Sonic down the stairs. "Is he ready?"

"To an extent," her red-furred sister replied.

"Robyn, what is going on?" Sonic whined.

"You'll see. Geez, you're impatient," Robyn sighed as she went to retrieve Shadow.

Zoey pulled Sonic over to the front door and positioned him. "Okay… stay still, Sonic. I'll be right back."

She paused, and then leaned over. "Whatever you do, don't say anything."

She turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen. She found Robyn fussing over Shadow. The red fox had to pinch herself to contain her laughter at the sight of the ebony hedgehog. "We ready?"

"Yep. Oh, and Shadow? Don't say anything until we say you can," Robyn said sweetly.

He mumbled something. Robyn ignored it and turned to Zoey. "Let's do it."

Zoey nodded. She turned on her heel and headed back to Sonic. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded reluctantly. Then Robyn dragged Shadow over to them and positioned him on the left side of Sonic. Zoey moved Sonic's left arm and made it look like he had his arm around Shadow.

"Okay, you two. We're going to take the blindfolds off, and you have to look straight ahead. Do not  move your head. Just look at me and smile," Robyn said.

The two hedgehogs nodded. Robyn grinned at Zoey before going over to Shadow while Zoey went to Sonic. "One… two… THREE!"

Together, they whipped the blindfolds off. Both hedgehogs obeyed and looked straight ahead. Zoey took several steps back and took a couple of pictures. "There!"

She looked at them and whistled. "You guys look so cute together!"

She walked over to them and showed them the pictures. Their eyes nearly bugged out of their skulls. Then, very slowly, they turned to face each other…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!" Sonic and Shadow screamed, jumping back from each other.

Sonic looked at Shadow with wide emerald eyes. His ebony rival was wearing a silk wedding dress with diamonds all over it. The veil had flowers designed on it, trimmed in pink. The bottom of the dress and the straps were accented with lace and ruffles. Shadow, on the other hand, was looking at Sonic with wide ruby eyes. His blue counterpart was wearing a black and white striped tuxedo with a red rose embedded in it. He also wore black dress shoes on his feet instead of his regular shoes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shadow growled as he turned to Zoey and Robyn.

Zoey smirked. "You two got pranked by your sweet little bird here… and I've got the cover for our Christmas card this year."

The two hedgehogs turned their gazes to Robyn. Robyn smiled quite devilishly. "Boredom dominates."

"YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Sonic and Shadow yelled.

Robyn looked at Zoey. "Run."

Her red sister nodded. They turned on their heels and bolted for the back door. Sonic and Shadow tried to follow, but found that they could not go at break-neck speed. They looked down and yelped in surprise- Sonic was wearing the dress shoes and Shadow was wearing white high heels!

"YOU CHANGED OUR SHOES?" Sonic yelped.

Zoey grinned. "Oh, yeah."

Shadow looked at Sonic. "Let's get them."

Sonic nodded. The two hedgehogs yanked their shoes off and chased after the two sisters. For a while, there was only feminine laughter and male growling piercing the air…

**THE END**


	8. Love Him Again

_Hmm… This is an old one too, but I don't remember the inspiration. Oh, well._

**Love Him**** Again**

-Robyn's POV-

_~A__ few hours earlier~_

_I sighed irritably. Sonic was giving me a quizzical glance. "Well?" he asked._

"_Sonic… I really don't want to talk about this.__ I mean… Shadow is cool and all…" Man. My face was turning red again, just like it always did when people put me under pressure._

_Sonic chuckled. "Why are you so nervous to talk about this with me?"_

"_Probably because you're forcing an answer out of me when I don't really have a straight answer for you," I replied._

"_Hmm…" He paused as he tapped my chin up. "Do you need __time?"_

_"Sonic! I told you… I don't want to talk about it. It… it makes me feel __extremely bewildered. I mean… you or Shadow? Or Silver? No, scratch that, not Silver. I… I don't know! Just stop pressuring me about it!"_

I had run off after that, leaving Sonic quite confused. I had run all the way home, back to where I was needed by someone more than anything.

My little brother, Tails. Sonic's best friend.

He didn't ask any questions when I bolted through the door and fled to my room. He knew me better than anyone on the planet, so he let me stew in my own anger for a while before coming up to me.

"Big sis? Are you okay?" he asked as he walked into my room.

My voice was muffled, as I had my head in my pillow. "No."

He sat on the edge of my bed next to me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed, and sat up. "It's Sonic."

"Again? What did he do now?"

"He was asking me about Shadow. How I feel about him. Stuff like that."

Tails started messing with his twin tails. "If you ask me… he's asking because you've been spending a lot of time with Shadow… a lot of people think that Sonic still cares about you. He doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Tails… I know. Part of me still cares, too. But… I have faced the reality that a relationship with Sonic just won't work for me."

"And a relationship with Shadow will?"

I blinked. I had not been expecting that response. "…"

"I thought so." He stood up and faced me. "Look, big sis. I love you to death. You've been there for me through everything. Now, it's my turn to be there for you. I think you need to talk to both of them about this."

I froze. "Both of them at the same time?"

"Yes. You need to explain to them how you feel about them. Not just them in general, but about them pressuring you. Tell them that you need time to think about things. Especially after what happened with Naezo…"

My ears pricked at the mention of my ex-fiancé. His name brought back all of the memories. The good and the bad, the love and the heartbreak, all of them. I had to wipe my eyes to avoid a waterfall that was threatening to let loose.

"Big sis?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Tails… I'm gonna call Ashley. She might have some good advice."

"Okay. I'll be in the lab if you need me. The X Tornado needs some work on her wings."

I chuckled as Tails left. My brother, the mechanical genius. Oh well. He comes in handy when my stuff breaks and I can't fix it, so no complaints.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed Ashley's number. I was a bit nervous as the phone rang. Sure, Ashley and I were friends, but I still had the feeling that she didn't like the fact that I was close with Sonic. That was the main reason I could of for the distance in what could be a good relationship with her.

"Hello?"

I took a deep breath. "Ashley? It's Robyn."

A brief pause. "Hey, what's up?"

"Um… I was wondering if I could ask for some advice."

"What about?"

"…Sonic."

She chuckled lightly. "Sonic bugging you again?"

It took me a moment to find my voice. "How'd you-"

"He's at my house right now. He's been ranting about how you left him without an answer."

I growled. "Dammit... I bet you that he's over exaggerating. Tell him I'll be right there."

"Sure, sure."

**-XxXxX-**

I skidded to a stop outside of Ashley's house. I figured that Tails would freak out if he came into my room and found me missing, so I had left him a note. Now all I had to worry about was Sonic. I smoothed out my blouse, adjusted my ponytail, and then walked up to Ashley's front door. I took a deep breath and exhaled. I raised my hand to knock on the door…

…and it swung open before my knuckles even made contact with it.

"There you are! Sonic's been waiting on you," Ashley trilled as I stood there, half-frozen.

"Uh… right." I shook my head to salvage what confidence I had left before stepping inside.

I didn't take the time to admire Ashley's house like I usually did when I came over. Instead, I followed her to the living room, where Sonic was waiting.

He grinned as I came into the room after Ashley. "There you are, Miss Mysterious."

I rolled my eyes. "If you weren't my best friend, I would kick your ass."

"Oh, c'mon. You know you still love me."

"Not in that sense, Sonic."

Ashley chuckled as she sat on the couch. "You two sound like an old married couple."

I shot her a Look. "What?" she grinned.

I collapsed on the couch next to her. "Just keep an eye out and make sure we don't kill each other."

"Sure, sure."

Sonic put his hands behind his head. "So… Miss Prower-"

"Really, Sonic? You gonna make this an interview?"

He grinned. "You could say that."

I growled. Ashley emitted a quiet giggle at my frustrated expression. Sonic simply smirked.

"Fine. Continue," I sighed.

"Thank you." His grassy-green eyes twinkled with amusement at how annoyed I was with him. "Why did you leave me hanging around like that?"

Argh. Even he should know the answer to that. "I don't do well under pressure. You know that."

He smirked. "You didn't have to run. You could have smacked me."

"Or thrown him in the river," Ashley snickered.

I laughed as the color drained from Sonic's face. "I should have."

"…You both suck."

"We know."

He rolled his eyes. "You sure that it was because of pressure?"

I sat there for a second, unsure on how to answer. "I…I…"

"Exactly." His eyes were smug. "There's a reason why, and you're not telling."

I felt the familiar chagrin flood my cheeks. Damn. "I don't know…"

Sonic sighed. He turned his gaze to Ashley, who was smiling at how red my face was. "Mind if we take it from here?"

"Okay. I have Silver coming over soon anyway," she replied.

**-XxXxX-**

Before I knew it, Sonic and I were at the lake. I blinked as we sat down beneath our favorite tree. This was the same spot where many events had occurred. The first time we met, the first time we kissed, the first time we fought, when we broke up, and so many more. We hadn't been here in a while.

Sonic ignored my puzzlement and turned to me. His eyes were soft as they roamed my face. "Robyn… what happened?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"What happened… between us? We've always been close friends, and when we were…together… I really felt happy. I knew that you were there for me, and I was there for you. A lot of people seemed to think that we were perfect for each other. And then…"

"You blamed Shadow because I wasn't spending as much time with you, Sonic. I was defending him, and you got mad at me. He's my friend, too," I whispered.

Sonic stared at me in silence. Then, at last, he murmured: "So it really bugs you when we fight slash pick on each other slash whatever else?"

"Yes. It really does," I answered.

"Oh…" He shook his head. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I tried, Sonic. You wouldn't listen to me. You started screaming at me…" I trailed off for a few seconds as my eyes began welling up with tears. "So, I got mad."

Sonic's gaze suddenly seemed to unfocus. His eyes shifted from my face to his hands to the ground. After a long, awkward moment, he looked up at me again. "…I'm the worst."

I placed my hand on top of his. "No, you're not. You just… overreacted. Everyone does once in a while."

"I didn't mean… to yell at you, Robyn. I just felt like something was going on… I guess I felt betrayed."

"That's normal, Sonic. Everyone hits that point in a relationship. It's the true test of being able to trust one another, and naturally, you become a lot closer… if you manage to stay in the relationship, that is," I said.

Sonic chuckled weakly. "In this case… we didn't…"

I tipped his chin up with my free hand. "Sometimes it happens."

He stared at me. I stared at him. I had forgotten how green his eyes looked in the shade. His ears were perked up like they usually were when he was happy, curious, or surprised. His nose still reminded me a little of a blackberry. Seeing his face up close again… it made me feel warm inside.

That's when I realized it.

I was- and always had been- in love with Sonic.

I leaned a bit closer, studying each little detail. He smiled tenderly, as if he knew what I was thinking. "You still love me, don't you?"

I nodded, unable to speak. He smiled again. "It's okay. I told you that you needed some time."

I chuckled weakly. "I should have listened."

He tilted his head to the side slightly, as if examining me. I followed his gaze, never straying from it. In that moment, I knew what he wanted. My lips were on his so fast that he didn't have time to take a breath. He didn't seem to mind, though. He seemed to return my kiss with some sort of happiness. Something hardened inside my heart- something that had been dormant until now. We intertwined with each other; I ended up on his lap and he ended up with a hand on my cheek.

After a while, I pulled away from him. He opened his eyes a little and smiled at me. My heart thumped against my ribcage as I returned it. "Well…"

Sonic sighed and hugged me. "This is final?"

"…Yes," I whispered.

**THE END**


	9. Isolated Together

_Hahahaha… haha… I also had fun writing this one xD_

_Pairings: ShadOC (though they'd never admit it!)_

**Isolated Together**

Elaine sighed as she stared into the fire. This was not what she'd had in mind when she had gotten up that morning- being tossed into a portal and crash-landing on a deserted island. The thing that made it worse was that someone had been tossed along with her- and he wasn't her favorite person. In fact, she hated him. The feeling was returned from him. The thoughts caused her to glance at Shadow. The hedgehog was standing on the other side of the fire, his arms crossed and a frown plastered on his face. _Probably thinking of a way out of here…_

"Shadow?" she finally said.

"Hmm?" he responded absently.

"Are you hungry?" she questioned.

"Sure," he answered.

Elaine stood up slowly. "Maybe I can find something in the forest…"

The hedgehog didn't look at her. "You do that."

The hybrid rolled her eyes as she turned with a swish of her shirt and headed towards the forest. "Typical…"

**-XxXxX-**

Shadow continued to stare at the sky after Elaine left. He wasn't thrilled with being dumped here, either. His loathing of the hybrid nearly rivaled that of his dislike for a certain blue hedgehog. Not for the first time, he wondered why it had to be her.

_It could be worse, you know, _a voice inside his head said. _You __could__ have been stuck with Sonic._

The ebony hedgehog grimaced. It would have been worse if he had been stuck with that annoying Faker. Perhaps this was better for everyone's sake. He also had to admit that Elaine was a worthy ally. Her skill with a bow and swords came in handy- he didn't know what would happen while they were here.

Suddenly, he heard a loud scream. Normally, he wouldn't have cared about who it was. They were usually some of Faker's friends or frightened humans. But no- this was a scream of pain, intermixed with a bit of agony.

"…Elaine," he suddenly murmured.

He turned around and sped off into the forest.

**-XxXxX-**

He found her in the middle of the forest, grimacing in pain and clutching her ankle. Towering over her was a ginormous brown bear. Obviously she had stumbled into the animal's territory and had done something to tick it off.

"What the hell did you do?" Shadow asked as he turned to Elaine.

Despite the pain she was in, the hybrid managed to glare at him. "I didn't do anything! It probably thinks I was trying to intrude on its territory!"

Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but the bear swiped at them. He managed to tackle Elaine and dodge the huge paw. "Hmph…"

Elaine scowled again. "You're on my ankle, dammit."

"Whatever. Let's go," he said as he jumped up, threw her over his shoulder, and sped off.

**-XxXxX-**

As soon as they got back to the fire, Shadow put Elaine down. The hybrid growled through clenched teeth as she grasped her ankle. The hedgehog knelt beside her and surprised her by gently removing her boot and examining her ankle. It looked red and a little swollen- not as bad as she had thought.

He nodded. "You need to not move it… I think you'll be fine. You've toughed out worse situations."

She stared at him as he sat beside her. He stretched his eyes before catching her gaze. "What?"

"Nothing… just… thank you," she murmured.

He raised an eyebrow. Elaine averted her gaze and didn't say anything else. Shadow stared at her for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the sky.

**-XxXxX-**

A scream jolted Shadow from his sleep later that night. He sat up to see Elaine clutching her ankle again. An irritated sigh escaped the hedgehog's lips as he scooted over to her. "I told you not to move it…"

"Sorry. I can't help that I toss and turn in my sleep," she growled sleepily.

He watched as she carefully let go of her ankle. It still looked bad- perhaps a bit more swollen. Without thinking, he reached over and touched it.

"Ahh!" Elaine yelped.

He pulled away and turned his gaze to her. She was biting her lip and had one eye closed. "S-Sorry…"

"Nah, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Shadow admitted sheepishly.

Elaine stared at him. Then she finally crackled a smile. "That's the Shadow I know and get irritated with."

Shadow couldn't help but mirror her smile. "And that's the Elaine I know… and… a-admire…"

She raised an eyebrow. "You admire me?"

Shadow found himself putting an arm around her. "In a way… you carry yourself well, yet you're secretive. You speak your mind and motivate people. You're a great swordswoman and archer."

Before Elaine could respond, he leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I've come to love that…"

Her face turned pink. "Shadow…"

The hedgehog removed his arm and propped her chin up with his index finger. She surprised him, however, by beating him to the kiss.

It was… surprising. Her lips were soft and tasted cherry chapstick. For once, he had a close-up of her scar, the one that she had received during her years as a gang member. It was jagged and ran along the bone below her left eye. It looked old- then again, it had been at least six years since she had joined the gang. Shadow found his eyes closing. He pulled her closer, breathing in her scent of mint leaves and cherries. To her, he smelled like Axe cologne. She was startled to feel him pull her closer, but she didn't do anything. She simply submitted.

After a moment, they pulled away from each other. They stared at each other, and then looked away. It was one of those "Don't mention this to anybody" moments…

**THE END**


	10. Christmas Surprise

_This one is from… 2 years ago? I think? I don't know anymore X _ X_

**Christmas Surprise**

"Here you go, big sis," Tails said as he handed Robyn a box of cookies.

She carefully opened it, her jade eyes scanning the delicacies. She selected three different ones and places them on the special Christmas plate. Then she looked up in time to see Kelly come into the room with a tall glass of milk. "There we go."

Kelly smiled adorably as she set it next to the plate. "Done!"

Tails grabbed Robyn's hand. "When will Santa come?"

Robyn smiled. "As soon as you kids are asleep."

Tails and Kelly groaned. "Aww, that's not fair!"

Robyn chuckled as she pulled them into a hug. "I'm sorry. That's just the way it is."

Tails clung to his sister as Kelly clung to her adoptive mother. "Will we ever get to see him?"

Robyn smiled again and kissed both of their heads. "Maybe, sweetheart. Now, off to bed. I'll be up in a moment."

**-XxXxX-**

As soon as she had tucked them in bed, Robyn heard scuffling downstairs. She frowned as she tiptoed down the stairs. No one was suppose to be down there yet. She pulled her black velvet robe closer to her slender body. She treaded softly to the family room- where the noise seemed to be coming from. To her surprise, she found Sonic sitting at the window by the tree. He was watching the snow fall outside and gently cover the bushes.

He didn't realize that she was there until she spoke. "Sonic…?"

He jumped, and then relaxed when he saw her. "Hey."

She came up behind her and watched the snow over his shoulder. "It's pretty, isn't it…?"

"Yeah…" Sonic continued to stare out the window.

Robyn sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

Sonic didn't look at her. "Yeah."

Robyn felt something tug at her heart. She reached over and grabbed the hedgehog's hand. "Sonic, please… talk to me. Something is bothering you…"

Sonic finally turned to look at her. His grassy-green eyes found her jade ones. "Sorry… I'm just reflecting on the year."

Robyn still had his hand in hers. "Yeah… a lot has happened."

Sonic nodded. His eyes were still locked with hers. They were the ideal shade of dark green, just like the green Chaos Emerald. He got lost in their warmth every time.

"Sonic…?" Robyn's voice jolted him back to reality. He blinked to see her face just a few inches away from his.

He pulled back a little. "Sorry."

Robyn opened her mouth to say something, but then the clock on the wall struck midnight. Robyn and Sonic both looked up at it briefly before turning to each other again.

"It's Christmas," the fox said softly.

The hedgehog nodded. "Yeah… finally."

Robyn smiled tenderly. "I want to give you part of your gift now… while the others are asleep."

Sonic blinked. "What…?"

She didn't answer him. Instead, she brought a dainty hand up and propped Sonic's chin up. He stared at her with wide eyes. She smiled again before leaning forward and gently pressing her lips to his. Sonic's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. It had happened so fast- he wasn't sure what to think for a second. Sure, he had thought about it before, about getting a kiss from her, but he had never thought that it would actually happen. Whenever they were alone, she seemed timid about being close to him. That thought caused the hedgehog held his breath, expecting it to be over as quickly as it had happened. When she was still pressing against him however, he took the chance to kiss her back. For one perfect moment, it was nothing but the two connected.

Robyn was the one to break it. She was still smiling. "Merry Christmas, Sonic…"

She kissed him again before parting the room, leaving a very stunned Sonic in her wake.

**THE END**


	11. Kelly's Birthday

_Hee hee… Butter Cream Cake joke… xD_

**Kelly's Birthday**

"Kelly!" Robyn called out.

The young echidna sighed. "What?"

"Kota and Alex are looking for you!" the grey fox called back.

Kelly's curiosity suddenly peaked. That was not what she had been waiting for. "Where are they?"

"In the backyard," Robyn answered.

Kelly got up and stretched. _Too much effort… I was perfectly content right here…_

With a quiet sigh, she went inside. She crossed the kitchen with a nod to Robyn, Sonic, and Tails before opening the back door and heading outside. She found her adoptive parents sitting at the old picnic table.

"You rang?" she asked with an adorable, innocent grin.

Alex chuckled. "Yes. We want to talk to you about your birthday."

Kelly groaned. Kota gave her a quizzical glance. "What are you groaning for?"

Kelly fidgeted uneasily. "Well… to be honest, I don't know what to say… because I… I've never celebrated my birthday…"

Alex's blue eyes widened, as did Kota's crimson ones. "What?"

"Remember? I was kidnapped by Shawn when I was young. He never celebrated my birthday. I've never had a party… or eaten cake… or opened presents… or anything," Kelly said quietly.

"Oh, dear…" Kota gently ruffled her dreadlocks. "Well, then.. I guess we have a lot of work to do, then."

Kelly blinked. "Huh?"

Kota gave her a small and sat her on his lap. "We have a party to plan. I'm not going to let this year be the same… it's going to be different. I promise."

A huge grin slowly played out on Kelly's youthful face. "Really?"

Alex reached over and hugged her. "Really."

"YAY!" Kelly clapped her hands delightedly. "I'm so happy!"

She looked up at her "parents" with the huge grin and a few tears in her arctic-blue eyes. "…Thank you…"

"You're welcome," they chorused.

"Obviously everyone here is invited," Kelly began immediately.

"Okay," Alex agreed.

Kota rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure we should let Shadow be around…"

"I'll get Robyn to keep an eye on him," Alex said.

Kota shrugged and tapped his chin. "We won't talk about presents yet…"

"Why?" Alex asked.

Kota gave her a knowing glance. She blinked, and then her blue eyes widened. "Oh… Okay."

Kelly gave them both a Look. She hated not knowing things. "Well…"

"What kind of cake do you want?" Kota asked as he ruffled her dreadlocks again.

"…I wonder if we could ask Robyn to make her delicious Butter Cream cake," Kelly mused.

Alex's eyebrows shot up. "No. Absolutely not!"

Kota frowned. "Why not?"

"I do NOT want our child becoming obese in ten years time!" Alex countered.

Kelly blinked. "But… I'm half vampire…"

"I don't care. No Butter Cream Cake," Alex said stubbornly.

Kelly turned to Kota, her arctic-blue lenses wide. "Daddy, I want Butter Cream Cake!"

Kota smiled slightly and patted her head. "Of course, sweetheart. If that's what you want."

"I just said no!" Alex exclaimed.

Kota shot her a Look. "This party is suppose to be about what Kelly wants. Not what you want."

Alex's face turned red. Then she cursed and began yelling at her fellow hybrid. Kota set their adopted daughter on the table so he could stand up and defend himself. It went on for a few minutes until Kelly started crying.

Kota and Alex immediately shut up, looking alarmed. "Kelly?"

"I WANT BUTTER CREAM CAKE!" Kelly wailed.

"Okay, okay." Kota gave her a gentle hug. "I promise that you can have Butter Cream Cake."

Over her head, he shot Alex a Look that said, "We can argue about this later". She nodded as she bit her lip.

Kelly looked up at the male hybrid with tears in her eyes. "Promise?"

Kota gently wiped her eyes. "Promise."

**THE END**


	12. If Only She Knew

_Another old one._

**If Only She Knew**

_-Sonic's POV-_

My heart nearly stopped when I saw her. She was wearing a thin purple blouse, a black ruffled skirt that barely reached her knees, and knee-length black boots. Her bangs were slightly parted to the side. Her silver heart-shaped locket was around her neck, like usual. Her jade eyes sparkled in the sunlight. I took a deep breath to keep myself from running over to her and swinging her around.

She immediately spotted me, and waved. "Sonic! Hey!"

I waved back and gave her my trademark grin. She beamed back at me, and then ran over. "Have you been waiting long?"

Typical question. "Nah. I just got here."

"That's good." She brushed a few bangs away from her eyes, her lovely jade eyes. I tried to contain the blush as best as I could. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.

"Is anybody else here yet?" she questioned.

"Nope. Shadow said he'd be late… which means he won't show up," I chuckled.

"You know how he is. If he knows I'm here, or if Ashley's here, or if Danie's here, he'll show up."

"Right." I grimaced. I had wanted a quiet picnic, but that wasn't going to happen now if Shadow showed up and began drooling over Robyn and teasing Danie and Ashley.

"He promised he'd behave, Sonic," Robyn sighed.

D'oh. Why do I always forget she can read minds? "I don't believe him."

She sighed. "There's no point in arguing. You're too stubborn."

"Look who's talking," I smirked.

She grinned. "Touché."

A sudden "ahem" caught our attention. We turned to see Shadow standing there. "Can you two have a sappy moment later?"

Robyn blushed. "We weren't. We were just talking about you."

"Mmhmm." His ruby eyes twinkled as he looked at her. "Right."

Robyn smiled as she leaned over and gave Shadow a light kiss. My heart suddenly felt like it was on fire. I almost clenched my fists, but managed to restrain myself. Then, the others began arriving. Shadow and Robyn turned around to head over to them. I watched with a heavy heart as my only beloved began walking away from me. If only she knew… that I loved her. If only she knew… that she was the one I wanted. If only she knew…

**THE END**


	13. After the Adventure

_Elaine: Oh, Lady Solarah. I have to do Disclaimers. *growls* My creator doesn't own Sonic and co._

**After the Adventure**

This was it. Robyn glanced at Sonic with wide emerald eyes. The blue hedgehog was glaring at Dark Gaia. The massive beast had grown several more eyes and another pair of arms. For a split second, the grey fox feared that there would be no end to this. Judging by the looks on Amy's and Tails's faces, they were thinking the same thing.

"Sonic…?" she whispered.

He didn't look at her. He clenched his fists as Dark Gaia came a little closer to them. He seemed to be waiting for something. Suddenly, the re-energized Chaos Emeralds came flying out of the temples. Robyn's eyes widened, as did Amy's and Tails's. "Oh…!"

"Let's do this!" Sonic growled as he raised his arms.

The emeralds went faster and faster until they enveloped the blue hero in a bright light. The others had to shield their eyes for a second before they saw Super Sonic levitating before them. "Sonic…!"

He turned to them. "Guys…"

It was Robyn who spoke. "Sonic… it's up to you…"

He nodded before speeding towards Dark Gaia, who was waiting for him.

**-XxXxX-**

Dark Gaia opened his final eye after Sonic used his super boost to poke out the other six. The yellow hedgehog levitated in front of the beast, a little drained, but still determined to finish what he started. He took a moment to glance over his shoulder at his friends. Tails and Amy were still cheering him on, so he focused on Robyn. The slender fox had her hands clasped together and her emerald eyes were sparkling with admiration. When she saw Sonic looking at her, her face lit up. She gave him a huge, encouraging smile. Seeing it gave him a boost of determination. He grinned back at her before turning back to Dark Gaia with a confident smirk. "Let's finish this!"

The beast roared at him. It lifted one of its hands to swipe at him. Sonic quickly dodged it, earning him another round of cheers. He smiled and looked around for another Power Ring. To his horror, the nearest one was right over Dark Gaia's head!

The beast took the chance to swipe at the distracted hedgehog. Sonic didn't see it coming, so he got smacked. "Oof!"

"Sonic!" Tails, Amy, and Robyn cried out.

"Ugh…" Sonic shook his head. Dark Gaia swiped at him again, and the hedgehog flew backwards. He slammed into the temple behind the others with a ground-shaking THUD. Then he fell onto the ground, leaving a hedgehog-shaped dent in the wall.

"SONIC!" the others cried.

Amy ran to him first, putting one hand to her mouth. Tails stood on the other side of her, looking equally shocked. Robyn stood on the other side of her brother, leaning down and putting a hand to Sonic's cheek. There were already a few bruises forming on his face. He had a glazed look in his eyes, signaling that the crash had messed with his sense of balance.

Robyn sat him up and began shaking him. "Sonic! Pull yourself together!"

After a few seconds, his grassy-green eyes finally snapped to her emerald ones. "Uh… what? Oh, thanks Robyn."

"Need a hand?" she asked as she helped him up.

"Yes… I'm not going to be able to reach that ring without getting hit," he answered as he gestured to Dark Gaia's head.

Tails smiled as he reached into his tails. "It's a good thing that I carry a couple of them with me!"

He pulled one out and showed it to the others. Sonic grinned at him. "Tails, you are a lifesaver."

When he reached for it, Robyn immediately stopped him. He looked at her, confused. "What?"

"Don't take off yet," she replied.

With a confused expression, the hedgehog took the ring. He felt the power surge through his body. He began levitating above the others as he clenched the ring. "You might want to hurry up."

The fox smiled. She stood up and concentrated on her hands. The familiar purple lightning fire began forming in her hands. She waited until it was the size of a beach volleyball before turning to Sonic again.

He grinned once he saw the ball of Starfire. "Time for some Starfire Hedgehog, eh?"

Robyn nodded. "Spin!"

Sonic began spinning. Robyn closed her eyes for a second, and then thrust her hands up. "Envelopment!"

The ball of Starfire covered the spinning hedgehog. Robyn began whirling her single tail furiously before taking her friend in her hands and flying towards Dark Gaia. "Ready?"

"Let's do it!" he hollered.

Robyn nodded. With a loud cry, she spun around once and flung her electrifying friend at Dark Gaia's last eye.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic made full contact with the eye. The beast roared in complete agony as Robyn landed on the ground beside Tails and Amy. They watched as the beast fell, fell, fell backwards into the magma. Robyn quickly turned her attention to Sonic, however, as he zipped above the falling beast. He also watched as the defeated creature disappeared under the magma.

Then he glanced at her. Her heart fluttered as he smiled at her…

… and then he groaned, transformed back to his blue spiky self, and began falling towards the lava.

"SONIC!" Robyn cried.

The temple droid immediately stretched its arm out and caught the blue hedgehog in a green bubble. He landed safely on the palm of the droid's hand. Robyn immediately shot down the arm to her unconscious friend, taking no notice as Amy and Tails raced after her. "SONIC!"

She skidded to a stop beside the blue hedgehog and knelt beside him. She checked for a pulse and listened to his heart.

No sign…

"No!" Robyn began shaking Sonic continuously. "Sonic! You HAVE to stay with us! SONIC!"

He continued to show no sign of life. For the first time in a long time, Robyn felt tears sliding down her cheeks. Tails and Amy watched as she leaned closer to his face.

"Sonic… you can't leave now," she whispered.

Then she bent forward and pressed her lips to his. She realized that she was still crying as she kissed Sonic. The tears were falling off of her face and onto his. She put everything into it, determined to keep her friend alive. She was barely aware of Tails trying to restrain a very pissed-off Amy behind her. The only things she could concentrate on were Sonic and the fact that she didn't know how long she would be able to try, because the heat was finally beginning to weaken her.

"Robyn…" a voice beside her said.

She pulled back as soon as she heard Chip's voice. She looked up, teary-eyed and all, at the faint appearance of the imp. "C-Chip…"

Chip smiled slightly. "Let me handle it. You're going to wear yourself out."

Robyn blinked, but nodded and scooted back a little. Chip flew forward and smiled at the unconscious Sonic. "Sonic… you must live. For the world… and for your friends."

Then he waved, turned around, and began flying away. Robyn stared at him, as did Tails and Amy. "Chip!"

Then Sonic stirred. Robyn looked over in time to hear him utter a single name: "Chip?"

**-XxXxX-**

Chip looked down at the people he had come to call "friends". Sonic would be all right, he knew. They all would, for they all had each other to hang on to…

He combined himself with the temples again. He looked down at the palm to see Robyn, Amy, and Tails passed out next to Sonic. The heat had finally gotten to them, which meant he had to hurry. He smiled slightly as he threw them up towards the surface. The green bubble surrounded them, and then split apart so they were separate bubbles. Their arms dangled in front of their non-moving bodies.

Chip watched as they disappeared from view. The temples began burning up as the magma began rising. Before the flames consumed the droid, he thought of his friends again. They would be all right. They had each other…

That was his last thought before he went to sleep.

**-XxXxX-**

"- OOF!" Sonic slammed, face-first, into the ground. He felt the earth shake beneath his face. For a moment, he was terribly disoriented- it had not been soft enough to cushion his fall. As soon as he regained some feeling in his body, he placed his feet on the ground and pushed. His head popped out after a few seconds, and he stumbled backwards.

He regained his balance and shook his head. "Owwww…"

Then he looked around. "Robyn? Tails? Anybody?"

A loud feminine scream suddenly pierced his ears. He looked up to see Robyn falling towards him. "Holy shit… I gotcha!"

A few seconds later, Robyn landed in his arms. She blinked several times as she tried to get her bearings. Then she looked up to see Sonic's grassy eyes staring down at her, and her own emerald eyes widened in shock. "Sonic! Y-You're okay!"

He chuckled. "Hello to you, too."

Robyn gave him a Look and smacked his arm as he set her down. "It's not funny! You scared me half to death, Sonic!"

Sonic laughed as he put his hands up in mock surrender. "All right, all right. I'm sorry."

Robyn emitted a soft "Hmph" as she dusted herself off. Sonic was about to make a comment, but then he realized where they were.

They were outside Apotos… where he had first met Chip.

He looked around. Robyn followed his gaze curiously. She blinked in surprise when he gasped and took a step towards an unconscious Chip…

…and instead found Chip's bracelet laying on the ground.

Sonic paused. Then he took another step forward and picked it up cautiously. As he did, he heard Chip's voice. "I'll never forget any of you. I'll be here by you, always… a part of the Earth you tread."

He then glanced at Robyn. "…Did you hear…?"

Her eyes were wide as she slowly nodded. "Y-yeah…"

The hedgehog carefully slipped the bracelet on and looked ahead. The sun was still peeking over the horizon. Sonic observed in awe for a seconds, and then turned to Robyn, who had come up beside him. A huge grin flowered onto his face as he did so.

She blinked. "What are you smiling for?"

Sonic's smile only widened. Without a word, he turned on his heel and ran off.

"What the… Sonic! Wait up!" Robyn called out as she sped after him.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic began laughing as Robyn tackled him. The two rolled around on the ground for a moment before the fox managed to pin the hedgehog down. "I gotcha."

Sonic grinned up at her. "Impressive."

Robyn smiled a little. Then she rolled off of him and landed next to him. For a moment, the two were quiet. Then Sonic sat up and gasped. "Robyn, look!"

The female fox sat up and gasped softly. The sun was setting, and the sky was ablaze with shades of red, orange, pink, blue, and purple. It was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. "Wow…"

"…Robyn…" Sonic's voice caused her to tear her gaze away and look at her blue friend. He was studying her curiously. Her heart thumped against her ribcage. "Yes…?"

"Down there… I had a dream… that I was on the brink of death… and you… you kissed me… in an attempt to keep me alive," Sonic said softly.

Robyn's eyes widened a little. Sonic continued to study her before continuing. "Was that… did that… actually happen…?"

"…Yes," she whispered.

Sonic's eyes snapped up to hers. She took a deep quivery breath. "Sonic… you are one of the most adventurous, heroic, stubborn, determined, and awesome guys that I have ever met. Yes, you're a little moronic at times, and you do drive me insane… but… if you were to leave this world…"

She swallowed before whispering six words: "I don't know what I'd do…"

Sonic stared at her. At last… she finally admitted what he had guessed at for so long.

Robyn stared at him. "Sonic…?"

Before he knew what he was doing, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Robyn's jade eyes widened in shock as Sonic kissed her. She had only guessed how he felt about her… but she knew how Sonic was. He was too stubborn and impatient to stay tied down with any girl. Now, however… was he letting that part of him go? Was he willing to give love a chance?

Sonic was still pressing against her. Robyn realized that he was waiting for a response. Anything, anything from her, to show him that she meant what she had said. So… she kissed him back. It was… surprsing. She had never kissed anyone before, except for Tails on the cheek, so that really didn't count. This was her first real kiss… and judging by the way Sonic was acting, she guessed that it was his first, too.

After a moment, he pulled away. He brought his gaze to meet hers. Her face was a little red. She looked embarrassed, yet slightly pleased. "…Had enough?"

She blushed. He moved towards her again. However, she put a finger to his lips to stop him. "Wait."

"What?" he asked.

"This is not a one-time thing," she whispered.

He blinked. "No…"

"Then… do you love me?"

Sonic paused. Robyn regarded him warily, her emerald eyes probing for an answer. "Hmm?"

"Well… do you love me?" he asked.

She pouted. "I asked you first."

He smiled. "I asked you second."

"…Yes. I do," she whispered.

He smiled again. "I do, too… hang on."

Her eyes widened. "Wha…?"

His lips silenced her as he picked her up and sped off into the sunset.

**THE END**

**Aah, another short one done. To those who were able to pick it up, this was based off of the ending of Sonic Unleashed. I re-wrote it, altered it a bit, and added my own "final ending", if you will. I hope y'all enjoyed it, 'cuz my sisters sure did! =D**


	14. Sonic's Big 20

You and I first met

when my parents brought us together

I was three, you were seven

but the age didn't matter

You had hung out with people of different ages

from age two to the mid-twenties

Soon enough I thought you were interesting

You were there when I was four

and I had just lost my first sister

Every time I started to grieve for her

you gave me that famous cocky grin and made faces

Soon enough I was laughing

You were there when I went to school

and I was scared of my new surroundings

I held onto you the entire time

because you always gave me a boost of confidence

Soon enough I was playing with other kids

You were there every time I developed a crush

and felt the stinging blows of rejection

I cried like it was the end of the world

you just grinned and told me to play

Soon enough I was over it

You were there every time my friends and I fought

and I didn't know what to do

I saw how you dealt with the same thing

and realized that it would happen

Soon enough I was making plans with them

Now after thirteen years of everything

you are still by my side

That world-wide known grin I've come to love

hasn't changed since we met

Your appearance may have changed over the years

but so has mine, and everyone elses'

I may not be the little girl you used to know

but some part of me will always remember

I know that I'll never be able to repay you

for all of the things that we've endured

All that I can say to you, my hero, is...

Happy birthday...

Don't go changing for one split second

Just keep _running._

**THE END**

**Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC! This poem is truly dedicated to YOU, my favorite blue hero. What I've said is true- you've always been there since I was three years old. Here's to another ten years of friendship, running, and beating Dr. Eggbutt 8D**


	15. Happy Birthday Sky!

**Hey guys! So I'm back with another short story. This one is actually a birthday present for the lovely Sky-The-Echidna-21 of deviantART! Her birthday was June 21****st****, two days before Sonic's! She's an amazing person and a fabulous artist, so I decided to write her a birthday fanfic with her character, Sky the Echidna. I would have had this up sooner, but my little sister scribbled all over the story, so I had to rewrite it and then I had to make time to type it all out. But it's finally done, so here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Robyn, Zoey, Alustriel, and Braelyn. Mathius belongs to a friend of mine, and Sky the Echidna belongs to Sky-The-Echidna-21 of deviantART. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.**

"Guys, she's almost here! We have to hurry!" Sonic the Hedgehog exclaimed.

"For Chaos' sake, Sonic, we're going as fast as we can!" Miles "Tails" Prower said a bit irritably.

Sonic sighed. "I'm sorry, but I want this to be perfect for her."

"Sonic, panicking isn't going to help us get this done. How about you help me with the chairs?" Tails' sister Robyn asked.

"All right, all right…"

As Sonic moved some chairs to their designated places around the yard, his only thought was about how special this day was. Today was his girlfriend's birthday, and he had planned a surprise party for her. They had been together for some time, so he had spent a lot of effort on the party. He didn't want it to be like anything else they had ever done. Luckily, he had lots of great friends who had agreed to help him.

"Knuckles, I need those presents over there. Shadow, I need Tails and Cream ready to go as soon as Sonic brings her into the yard. Everyone else, grab confetti and streamers and GO CRAZY!" Robyn commanded.

Sonic stood by his friend as everyone else went about their tasks. He grinned at her. "You sure know how to organize a party."

She curtsied mockingly. "Only the best for my friends."

Sonic chuckled before glancing around the yard. "We're only missing two important details…"

"One of the details is inside with Rouge, getting ready," Robyn said.

"Awesome. I'm going to go out front and call the birthday girl," Sonic said.

Robyn winked. "Go get 'er, Blue!"

Sonic gave her a thumbs-up before jogging out to the front yard. He opened the screen of his communicator watch and punched in a few numbers. After a few seconds, the lovely face of his girlfriend appeared on the screen. "Hey, Sonic."

"Hey there, best girlfriend and birthday girl," the hedgehog replied.

Sky the Echidna laughed. "How on Mobius did you know?"

"Only by the million hints you've dropped over the past few days," Sonic grinned.

"Oh, right. Anyway, I think I'm a little lost. Did you say go south from the coffee shop or east?" the echidna asked.

"Chill by the coffee shop, I'll come pick you up."

"Okay, Blue."

With a grin, Sonic closed the screen and sped off through town. People stopped and stared at the blue blur. Some yelled his name while others cheered and tried to run after him. Since he could run at the speed of sound, however, he left his fans in the dust. It wasn't long before he skidded to a stop in front of a local coffee shop. He glanced around and saw a pretty medium pink echidna facing away from him. A grin crept over his face as he snuck up on her.

"BOO!" he yelled as he grabbed her shoulders.

Sky screamed and nearly elbowed him. When she saw the grinning face of her boyfriend, she groaned. "Sonic! You nearly scared me half to death!"

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed. "I couldn't resist. It was set up perfectly."

"Whatever. So where is this awesome place that you wanted to show me?" she questioned.

Sonic grinned and scooped her up bridal-style. "Hang on tight!"

Sky emitted a delighted squeal as the blue hedgehog zoomed away from the coffee shop. They zoomed through the city and found themselves on the outskirts in no time. Sonic placed Sky on her feet and then held her hand. She blushed as they walked along a back road.

"Just where are you taking me?" she asked.

"There," Sonic said as he stopped and pointed ahead.

Sky turned her attention away from her boyfriend to the thing he was pointing at. Her blue eyes widened and she gasped. It turned out to be a really big house: not quite a mansion, but still huge. It looked old-fashioned in style and ordinary in color, with a navy-blue roof and red-brick exterior. There were many arrangements of vibrant flowers along the pathway, which was a brick road. On both sides of the house, a wooden fence could be partially seen enclosing the backyard.

"What the… where… who lives here?" the stunned echidna asked.

"Just hang on. I have to do something first," Sonic said as he walked behind her.

Before Sky could turn around, he pulled out a blindfold and tied it around her head. "Now trust me."

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Sky asked worriedly as he placed his hands on her shoulders and eased her forward.

"Just trust me," he repeated as he continued.

The echidna had no choice but to do so. They took careful steps and had an easy pace. After a few minutes, she heard the turning of a door handle. "Sonic?"

He removed her blindfold. She blinked a couple of times and realized that they were standing in front of a door in the fence. Sonic's hand was on the door handle and he was smiling at her.

"Sonic?" she repeated.

Without warning, he yanked the door open. "NOW!"

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SKY!" a bunch of voices yelled.

Sky's jaw dropped. There were a bunch of people in the backyard, cheering for her. She saw Tails, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Cheese the Chao, Vanilla the Rabbit, Sonic's siblings Manic and Sonia, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile. Tails and Cream were the closest, tossing blue roses at her with huge smiles. Everyone else was standing around tables covered with food and streamers. In the center was a table with a ginormous birthday cake on it. It had dark blue icing and "Happy Birthday Sky!" written in light blue icing. There were balloons tied to the chairs and confetti all over the ground.

"Here you go, Miss Sky!" Cream beamed as she and Tails tossed the last of the blue roses to her.

Sky caught a couple of them and admired them. "They're lovely… thank you!"

Then she turned to Sonic, who was grinning like no tomorrow. "How… How did you manage to throw this without spilling?"

"I threatened to deny him chilidogs for a week if he talked," a voice said.

All eyes went to the porch. Sky found a grey-furred fox with dark emerald eyes and a calm smile standing there. She was wearing a purple off-the-shoulder blouse, a black ruffled skirt, and black knee-length boots. Around her neck was a silver heart-shaped locket with two diamonds in it. Sky blinked. "Uh…"

The fox laughed as she walked over. "Sonic, how well did you hide everything?"

"Apparently, very well. Sky, this is Robyn. She is Tails' older sister and the owner of this house," Sonic said.

Sky stared at the fox. "… You own this place?"

"Yes. It's in my name, but the whole Prower family helps pay the bills," Robyn explained.

"The whole family?" Sky repeated.

"Yep. There's Tails, me, Zoey, and Alustriel. Then a whole bunch of people, including some of the gang, live here as well," Robyn smiled.

"No wonder this place is huge," Sky murmured.

Sonic laughed. "Robyn, this is Sky. As you've gathered."

The fox flashed a grin. "Yes. The birthday girl and your _amour_, whom somehow has never crossed paths with _moi_ until now."

"Nor us!" two more voices chimed in.

Sky turned to see two more foxed standing in the doorway of the fence. One was a red fox with dark grey streaks in her wild hair. She was wearing a light blue tank top, beige short shorts, and black flats. She had four piercings in her left ear and a rainbow of bangles on her right arm. The other fox was blue and looked completely opposite of the red fox. She was dressed in a GUN uniform and had sunglasses resting on her head. Attached to her belt were a standard military gun and a tazer.

"Just in time! Sky, these are my sisters. The red one is Zoey. She's the wild and fun one. The blue one is Alustriel. She can be a bit cold and serious a lot of the time, but she's loyal to her family," Robyn introduced.

Zoey stepped forward and examined the echidna closely. Then she smiled. "Awesome! So this is the birthday girl!"

"I am. Pleased to meet you both," Sky said as she bowed.

Zoey grinned, and then turned to Sonic. She threw one arm around his neck and gave him a noogie with her free hand. "So how come we haven't met the lucky girl until now? Hmmm?"

"Aww, c'mon Zoey!" Sonic laughed as he tried to get out of her grasp. "I've been busy!"

"Busy, shmiizzzzzzzy! That's no excuse, hedgehog," the red fox replied.

Sky watched, obviously amused. Then she turned to Robyn. "Are they always like this?"

"Yup. Zoey is like this with practically everyone. She's bisexual, so she's kinda crazy around the girls as well as the guys. Regardless, she can be serious and she's loyal, like Aluss," Robyn explained.

"Bisexual, huh? Interesting," Sky said.

"Yup. She's engaged though, so you won't have to worry too much about her hitting on you," Robyn chuckled.

The echidna laughed. "Okay."

"Enough chitchat, let's get this party started!" Tails yelled as he held a glass of punch up.

Everyone cheered as Robyn turned the boombox on and party music started blasting out of the speakers. Some people went for the food while others danced, and a select few chilled and talked. Sonic danced with Sky for a while before he decided to join Robyn at the punch bowl. She was gulping hers down as he filled his glass up.

"Thirsty, much?" the hedgehog laughed as he took a sip.

"Yes. Hush," Robyn commanded as she filled her glass up.

Sonic glanced around the yard. "Huh… where's the other important detail? I need her here."

"I don't know… she was with Rouge when you left. HEY! ROUGE!" Robyn called.

The white bat walked over. "What's up?"

"Where's the other important detail? You were with her last," Robyn said.

"She got a phone call and told me to head outside. I'm surprised she isn't out here," Rouge said while glancing around.

"I'll go in for her. Without her, the party might not finish as strong as I want it to," Sonic said as he placed his glass down and headed for the back door.

Once inside, the hedgehog passed through the kitchen and headed up the back stairs. He walked down the hallway and paused outside a closed door. He put his ear to the door and listened for any sound. When he didn't hear any, he knocked. "Braelyn? You in there?"

For a few seconds, there was no response. Just as Sonic was about to knock again, the door opened to reveal a human girl with long curly blonde hair and dark emerald eyes. She was wearing a dark red long-sleeved blouse that hung off her shoulders, black flared jeans, and silver flats. Her eyes popped with mascara, and her nails were a mix of purple and white. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were a bit red, like she had been crying.

"Brae..? What's wrong?" Sonic asked as she stepped back to let him in.

She sighed. "I got a call from Mathius, who said he was on his way. We talked for a bit before I told him that he needed to hurry up. We hung up, and I went to get my guitar out of my closet… and it wasn't there! I've searched from top to bottom in my room, and I can't find it!"

Sonic then realized how messy the girl's room was. There were clothes and papers everywhere, and her bed looked like it hadn't been made in weeks. There was stuff spilled in her bathroom and in her closet. Sitting on the floor was her guitar case, which held no guitar. "Oh, no…"

"I don't know where I could have left it or if someone has taken it," the girl sniffed before she sat on her bed.

Sonic jumped up next to her and patted her back. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere. Where was the last place you had it?"

"Um… the party at Amy's house, I think. But I was certain that I brought it home."

"Hmm… well, crap. I don't have time to run there, we're supposed to do Sky's presents in a few minutes. I need you out there with your man," the hedgehog said.

Braelyn twirled a bit of hair around her index finger. Then her eyes lit up. "I have an idea. Give me a second."

She picked up her phone and hit the speed dial button. She held it up to her ear and waited a few seconds. "…Hey, honey. Are you almost here? …Awesome. Listen, I can't find my guitar. Do you still have that spare one? …Really? Awesome! You're the best, Mathius. Love you."

She hung up and beamed. "He just pulled out of town, so he'll be here in a minute or so. And he has a spare guitar in the back of his car."

"That's awesome, Brae! I'll see you two in a couple of minutes," Sonic said as he hugged her.

"You still got your present?" Braelyn asked.

Sonic nodded. "I asked Zoey to hang onto it."

The girl grinned. "Cool. See you down there. I'm going to change before Mathius gets here. I think I spilled something on my shirt."

Sonic gave her a thumbs-up before closing her door and heading back to the party. As he walked out, he caught Robyn's eye and jogged over to her. "A little incident, but everything's okay."

"Phew, that's good. Is her man here yet?" the fox asked.

"He'll be here in a minute. We should probably start presents," Sonic said.

"Cool. HEY, GUYS! WE'RE GONNA DO PRESENTS NOW!" Robyn yelled.

Zoey turned the music off as everyone cheered and gathered around the table with the big cake on it. Sky made her way to the front and smiled at Sonic. He hugged her and grinned. "Lift the table cloth."

The echidna did so, and found a massive pile of presents. "Oh, _wow_! That's a huge amount!"

"Pick a present and let's get started!" Robyn smiled.

The echidna reached under the table and brought a box out that said it was from Tails. She opened it to find a brand-new communicator watch. "Oh wow! Thanks Tails, I really needed one!"

"You're welcome, Sky!" Tails called from the back.

Next, Sky received Amy's present, which was a stunning blue dress that reached her knees and had long, flowy sleeves. "Amy! This is beautiful! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" the hedgehog replied.

Sky received a cookbook from Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla. Then Blaze gave her a pair of blue gloves to match her new dress. The Chaotix gave her a gift card for any restaurant that she wanted to go to, and Knuckles gave her the dark blue Chaos Emerald. Rouge gave her a pair of blue boots to go with her dress. Shadow gave her a new jacket that she had been wanting for a while, and Silver gave her a couple of gift cards to anywhere. Sonia and Manic gave her free tickets to their next concert. Zoey and Robyn gave her several bars of chocolate, and Alustriel gave her a pocket knife in case she couldn't use her powers in time of a sudden attack.

"Thank you, everyone! These are all lovely presents, and I feel greatly honored to have such amazing friends!" Sky beamed.

Zoey and Robyn glanced at Sonic. He gave them a slight nod. Zoey smiled. "Hey, Sonic, what about your present?"

Everyone turned to the blue hedgehog, realizing that he hadn't given Sky a present yet. Sky blinked. "Sonic?"

"I have two parts to my present. First, I'd like to introduce you to two more friends," Sonic said as he snapped his fingers.

The back door opened and two more people came out. One of them was a dark-haired guy with smokey-grey eyes and a calm smile. He wore a white button-up shirt with one button unbuttoned so his neck was evenly exposed, a nice pair of dark jeans, and black converse. He was holding the hand of a beautiful curly blonde girl with dark emerald eyes. She was wearing a strapless dark purple dress that had ruffles in the skirt and reached her knees, a little black jacket, and black strappy heels. Around her neck was a diamond necklace, and on her left ring finger was a silver engagement ring of sapphires and garnets. Both were holding guitars in their free hands.

"Sky, I'd like you to meet Mathius and his fiancée, Braelyn. They are very good friends of mine, and they are helping me with the present I have for you," Sonic said.

Mathius released Braelyn's hand and smiled at Sky, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "It's a pleasure, Lady Sky. Sonic has spoke nothing but good things about you. I can see why you have captured his heart."

A lot of the other girls swooned. Braelyn chuckled. Sky blushed. "T-Thank you, Mathius…"

Braelyn also stepped forward, smiling kindly. "It IS very nice to meet you, Sky. I wish Sonic had brought us together before this, but you know how he is."

"Forgetful?" Sky giggled.

"Heeeeyyy," Sonic whined as he gave Sky and Braelyn a Look.

Braelyn laughed. "Sorry, Sonic."

"I've also asked Zoey, Sonia, Manic, and Shadow to help," Sonic said as the mentioned people stepped forward.

Sky and the others stood back as Shadow held up the green Chaos Emerald and summoned a drum set, a piano, an electric guitar, and a violin. Manic went to the drums, Sonia went to piano, Shadow claimed the electric guitar, and Zoey claimed the violin. Then Shadow summoned a proper stage and microphones, and everyone claimed their places. Sonic and Tails moved the chairs and tables so the chairs were at the back and there was enough room to dance. When no one was paying attention, Zoey tossed something to Sonic. He caught it quickly and mouthed a "Thank you."

"All right, Sky… Sonic wanted us to play a special song for you. I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but it's called 'From This Moment On'," Braelyn said as she and Mathius took their places at the microphones.

Sonic tapped Sky on the shoulder and smiled. "Before we get officially started, there's something I have to say…"

Braelyn started strumming quietly as Sonic took Sky's hands. "Sky, ever since I met you, you've been the desire of my heart. We've been through quite a lot, but I wouldn't change a thing. I've given a lot of thought to this, and I've finally decided to go for it."

Everyone except those on stage gasped as Sonic got down on one knee and held a box up. "Sky the Echidna… will you marry me?"

To say that Sky was stunned would be an understatement. She was completely dumbfounded. She had never thought in a thousand years that Sonic would be ready to propose, and on her birthday! Still, they had been together for a while, which explained why he felt ready to take the next step. Their friends were cheering as Sonic revealed the ring, a simple gold band with three heart-shaped diamonds on it. Tears started to escape the echidna's eyes as she knelt down and threw her arms around her boyfriend.

"Yes, oh yes! Yes, Sonic, I will marry you!" she cried.

Everyone erupted into loud screaming of "CONGRATULATIONS!" and "YOU'RE ENGAGED!" and similar sayings. Tears were also sliding down Sonic's face as he plucked the ring out of the box and placed it on Sky's finger. The two then locked themselves in a passionate kiss which caused everyone to go crazy again. Sonic held his fiancée close, like he never wanted to let go. After half a minute though, they released for air and smiled at each other. Then Sonic glanced at Braelyn, and she mouthed "Good job."

"Thank you," he mouthed back.

Once everyone had calmed down, Sonic and Sky stood up. The hedgehog took the echidna's hands and smiled again. "Care to give me one dance?"

Sky nodded happily and squeezed her fiancé's hands. That was the cue for everyone on stage. Braelyn cleared her throat before singing softly the prelude of the song. **(A/N: italicized will be Braelyn singing, underlined will be Mathius singing, and bold will be both of them together =))**

"_I do swear… that I'll always be there… I'd give anything, and everything… and I will always care… through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow… for better or worse… I will love you… with every beat of my heart…"_

Sonic and Sky began to slowly dance as Sonia started playing her piano with Zoey alongside on her violin. Braelyn plucked a few notes before the music halted for a brief second. Then Manic started tapping the cymbals while Zoey started playing again.

_From this moment… Life has begun_

From this moment… you are the one

_Right beside you_

**Is where I belong**

**From this Moment**

_On…_

Braelyn started strumming her guitar softly at this part, while Zoey went to a higher note. Sky smiled as Sonic kissed her cheek.

From this moment, I have been blessed

_I live only… for your happiness_

And for your love

**I'd give my last breath…**

**From this moment, on…**

Braelyn stopped strumming here, and Mathius picked up where she had left off. Sonia played the piano softly in the background, best being heard when neither one were singing.

_I give my hand to you with all of my heart_

I can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start

**You and I will never be apart**

**My dreams… came true…**

**Because… of you…**

Manic finally started playing the drums, while Braelyn and Shadow joined in with their guitars. Now everyone was playing together, and Sonic and Sky were dancing. Some of the others had joined them on the "dance floor" while the others slowly waved their hands back and forth.

**From this moment, as long as I live**

**I will love you… I promise you this**

**There is nothing, I would not give**

**From this moment, on…**

**Whoaaa!**

Braelyn and Mathius temporarily dropped out. Zoey started playing a bit faster while Shadow got to have a solo guitar moment. His notes rang out above the rest of the music, capturing the moment perfectly. Before Braelyn and Mathius started singing again, they joined back in.

_You're the reason I believe in love…_

And you're the answer to my prayers, from up above

**All we need is just the two of us**

**My dreams… came true...**

**Because… of you…**

**From… this… moment**

**As long as I live**

**I… will love you…**

**I promise you this, there is nothing**

**I would not give…**

**From this, moment**

Here, everything began to slow down again. Shadow dropped out while Manic started tapped the cymbals again. Zoey and Sonic also got very quiet.

_I will love you _(I will love you…)

Finally, it was just Braelyn and Mathius.

_As long as I live…_

**From this, moment…**

Everything seemed to halt. Then:

_On… _(On…)

Braelyn, Mathius, and Zoey started playing again, as well as Sonia and Manic with Shadow adding in a couple of notes.

**Mmmm, mmm, mmmmmmm…**

Finally, it was just Braelyn and Zoey, with Zoey extending her last note until Braelyn plucked the final note. Everyone went wild as Sonic and Sky stopped dancing and kissed again. Shadow and Zoey high-fived each other while Sonia and Manic gave each other a thumbs-up. Mathius kissed Braelyn tenderly as she hugged him. The others were cheering, crying, and hugging everyone.

"You guys were AWESOME!" Silver exclaimed.

"You should play at their wedding!" Amy called.

Braelyn laughed. "That's up to the lovebirds."

Sonic winked. "We'll think about it."

Sky couldn't express how happy she was at that moment. It was her birthday, her boyfriend had proposed and had gotten some new friends (as well as old friends) to play the most beautiful song she could ever think of. With tears in her eyes, she kissed Sonic again and whispered, "Thank you…"

**Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! I had so much fun writing this. At first I wasn't sure what to write, because I wanted it to be a special birthday. I finally figured that I wanted Sonic to get some people together to play a song for Sky. I don't know how I decided on the proposal idea, but it tied in perfectly and I was able to choose a great song for it. I hope she loves it, and I hope you guys did too! Now, as for more short stories, you guys can request a story from me! Just leave a review or PM me with an idea and I'll try to write them! They can include any characters you want, including if you have any FCs. **


	16. His Girl

**Hi everybody! I just came up with this the other day. I was in a mushy mood and decided to write about Braelyn and Mathius. I should probably explain a few things first.**

**1: Braelyn and Mathius are NOT Sonic characters. They are characters from The Forgotten Realms who end up in the Sonic world on one of their adventures. I am writing their story, which can be found in The Forgotten Realms section of Fanfiction. Of course, it only has 2 chapters right now…**

**2: Braelyn's dress looks like this: ** www. bridalwave. Tv /Pronuptia8Feb .JPG **only it goes to her knees and the sleeves are longer.**

**I think that's everything. If you guys are confused about anything else, drop a review and I'll try to fix it so it makes sense.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Braelyn, Robyn, and partially Mathius.**

"Hi, Sonic," Braelyn Hallowcloak said as she walked into the kitchen of the mansion owned by Sonic's friend, Robyn Prower.

"Hey, Brae-Bear," Sonic the Hedgehog replied as he continued to eat the chilidog that he had made for himself.

"Where is everyone? It's awfully quiet around here," the blonde girl noted as she pulled out a bottle and filled it with chocolate milk.

"I think Rouge invited almost everybody to Club Rouge to celebrate something important. The kids didn't want to go, so I volunteered to stay with them," the hedgehog chuckled as he finished his chilidog.

"And the kids are…?" Braelyn questioned.

"Upstairs watching a movie," he smiled.

She grinned. "All right. I'm going to sit outside for a while. It's beautiful outside, especially with the stars starting to show up."

"Is that why you're a bit dressier? I haven't seen you wear a dress ever," the hedgehog asked as he eyed his friend in a knee-length red-wine dress that rested off of her shoulders with long flowy sleeves, a small black belt around her waist, and a pair of black wedges that were only an inch high.

She smiled and fidgeted with a diamond necklace around her neck. "No, silly. I was out with Robyn earlier, remember?"

"Right. Have fun staring at the sky. If you've been hanging around me like everyone says you have, you'll get great pleasure out of it," Sonic dismissed with a wave of his hand.

The petite blonde stuck her tongue out at him playfully before she opened the back door and went outside. She made her way to the bottom of the hill behind the mansion and sat down on the cool grass. She carefully set her drink down before she leaned back and rested against the up-going slope. For a few minutes, she watched as the sky grew darker and thousands of tiny stars emerged, filling the sky like the diamonds on her necklace. She sighed contently and put her hands behind her head.

"Braelyn?"

Hearing that voice made her heart throb slightly. "Mathius…"

A few seconds later, she felt a shift in the grass as someone laid down next to her. "Hi, Braelyn…"

"Hi, yourself," she replied as she turned on her side to face him.

Her best friend for her entire life smiled once he caught her jade eyes with his dark grey ones. "What are you doing out here?"

"What? I just wanted to see the stars. It's beautiful out here," she replied.

"Not as beautiful as you," he automatically said, staring at how her outfit perfectly framed her body.

Braelyn's heart throbbed again, although a bit faster. Mathius always gave her compliments like that, but her heart never used to throb like this. It had only started doing this since the ball on their home world, which had been ages ago. It was when she had seen him in a black suit and he had positively stunned her with how handsome he looked. That was when the fluttering had begun. After that, it sometimes happened for no reason, which confused the girl even more.

"Brae?" Mathius asked as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

She shook her head to clear her mind of her previous thoughts. "Sorry, Mathius. Did you say something?"

He chuckled. "That's my girl. Always spacing out."

"Since when was I 'your girl'?" she teased.

"Oh, I dunno… since we first met?" he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh please," she scoffed, "We were, what… three when we officially became friends?"

"Y'know… there is a saying about my kind," he said as he unfurled his raven-black wings and sat up.

She blinked and sat up too. "And, pray tell, what would that be?"

He leaned a bit closer to her. "We get this weird feeling when we are with our mates after a certain age… before we are bound to them."

Braelyn held her breath. Her earlier thoughts came rushing back, attacking her all at once that she nearly felt dizzy. "Woah…"

Mathius reached a hand over and laced his fingers with Braelyn's. "Truth is, I've loved you like a sister since we met, Brae. But… lately… I've been feeling some other feeling whenever I'm with you…"

Braelyn slowly released her breath. "Really…?"

"Yes… but first, I must ask you for your complete and honest feelings towards me," he said softly.

The blonde stared into her best friend's eyes, searching for anything that would help her calm her nerves. Not only could Mathius make her feel nervous, he could also calm her down with a look or a touch of his hand. It was somewhat contradictory, when she really thought about it. Then again, he had always been able to calm her down. It was the making her nervous part that had surfaced lately…

"Brae?" Mathius repeated.

She blinked again. "My… feelings? I don't know what you want me to say, Mathius…"

"I want the truth," he said as he squeezed her hand, "Have you ever thought that maybe… there was something more to us…?"

There it was. The cards had been put into play. "Um… well, all right."

She picked up the bottle with chocolate milk and took a long drink. Her cheeks were somewhat flushed when she finished. "The truth is… yes. I have thought of us. It started at that ball that a friend of a friend of yours gave. I don't think you realized just how good you looked in that suit… and all of the girls who danced with you with stars in their eyes… I had been feeling a bit strange since we had reunited. It took that night to realize that I loved you more than a brother."

She paused before she tapped him on the nose. "That almost-kiss that happened didn't exactly help me either, Mister."

Mathius looked thoughtful as Braelyn leaned back a bit. "The ball, hmm? Do you want to hear something?"

"I guess," she said softly.

"The ball is when I started questioning my feelings for you… you looked absolutely beautiful, Braelyn. That much I was able to admit. But it confused me because you are my best friend. I wasn't sure if I was falling for you, and more importantly, if I was going to be able to push the boundaries from what Sonic calls 'the friend zone'," he admitted.

She held her breath again. The truth had been revealed. "Wow…"

"That feeling has been growing more and more as of late… I'm certain of it, Brae. We are destined to be together. You are the one I will be with until I die," he whispered.

She couldn't believe her ears. Mathius hadn't been this open with her since they were children. "Are… Are you sure…?"

He nodded. "I'm sure…"

He trailed off. He couldn't do anything but stare into her dark jade eyes. She had usually been able to read him with those eyes. How she hadn't detected his love for her before now was a mystery to him. "Brae…"

"Mathius," she breathed as she closed her eyes.

Although she was somewhat expecting it, she was still a bit surprised when Mathius pressed his lips to hers. They were soft, but firm. She dropped her guard and kissed him back, relishing the sweet feeling that washed over her. She felt him squeeze her hand before hi free hand moved up to tangle itself in her hair. She briefly pulled back so she could scoot closer to him. This time, it was her who made contact first.

Mathius nearly melted into her kiss. The desire to kiss her had finally melted away. She felt so soft, despite her sometimes hard exterior that she had when it came to certain situations and people. He kept his hand tangled in her hair while he released her hand to put his hand on her shoulder. Her skin was soft and tingled under his fingers. Smirking, he slowly slid his tongue into her mouth. She moaned softly as their tongues battled for dominance.

The next thing they knew, there was a loud yelp and a THUD that shook the ground. They quickly broke apart and turned their heads to see a certain blue hedgehog face-first in the ground. He groaned as he tried to pull himself out. The two watched until he finally managed to pull himself out. He rubbed his head with one hand and groaned again. "Ow…"

"Sonic? What were you doing in that tree?" Braelyn asked.

He gulped and looked down at his hand. Mathius followed his gaze and found a red camera in the hedgehog's hand. "Were you… _taking__pictures__?_"

"Oh, damn," Sonic swore as he ran for it despite his hurting head.

Enraged, Mathius got up and ran after him. Braelyn watched the two, laughing as poor Sonic ran while clutching the camera and Mathius screamed death threats at the hedgehog. When they eventually disappeared into the forest beyond the mansion, Braelyn fell silent and put her index finger to her lower lip. She closed her eyes and relived the kiss, practically glowing as a warm feeling ran through her body from her fingers to her toes. She hadn't known that he was a good kisser, hadn't known that he had fallen for her, but she did know one thing.

She definitely was "his girl".

***dies of mush* This is what I get for writing at 1 in the morning. Then again, all of my good stuff comes from writing at 1 in the morning xD I hope you guys enjoyed this! :D**


	17. Sky's Big Day

**Hi guys! I can't believe I'm back already with another short story… anyway, if you read story number 15, titled "Happy Birthday Sky!" than you can consider this a sequel. I sent number 15 to Sky on deviantART, and she loved it so much that she asked me to write about Sonic and Sky's wedding! As a result, she will get THIS story! Nonetheless, I'm putting it up in my short stories collection so you can read it too. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Robyn, Zoey, Alustriel, Braelyn, and partially Mathius. Sky the Echidna belongs to Sky-The-Echidna-21 of deviantART. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.**

"Well, Sky… it's finally almost here. Your big day. How do you feel?" Amy Rose asked.

Sky the Echidna sipped her sweet tea before setting it down on the granite table. "I will admit, I am nervous. A lot of preparation has gone into this, and I am worried that someone will try and mess everything up. I mean, you guys have worked awfully hard on this."

"There is NO way that any of us will let that happen. Like you said, a lot of work has gone into making this happen, and we will NOT let anyone screw it up," Robyn Prower said boldly with a smile.

Sky smiled as the other girls nodded in agreement. "You girls are the greatest friends I could have asked for. I am glad that I got to know all of you, and that you were all able to help me and Sonic."

The other girls "Aww"ed and said their thanks. Sky then dropped into her own thoughts as they began to converse about other things. After months of preparation and a boatload of patience, Sky was finally going to be married the next day to her fiancé, Sonic the Hedgehog. He had proposed several months earlier on her birthday, with the help of their friends. Thanks to those same friends, the wedding was going to be one of the biggest events in Sky's life. She could not feel more grateful to them than she already did.

"Well, we've got all of the girls here while the guys are with Sonic. What do we want to do before we try and go to sleep?" Braelyn Hallowcloak asked.

Robyn's sister, Zoey, shrugged. "Truth or dare, anyone?"

**-XxXxX-**

"Psst… Sky. Wake up."

The echidna groaned and rolled over, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Five more minutes, Braelyn…"

"Sky, you have to get up! Today is your big day, remember?!"

Blue eyes immediately shot open. "Ahhhh! Today IS the day!"

Braelyn's smiling face swam into view as Sky rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up. "Good morning, sunshine. I made breakfast for you."

Sky stretched and sat up straighter, allowing Braelyn to place a tray with Sky's favorite breakfast foods on the echidna's lap. "Oh, Braelyn. You shouldn't have."

"I had to. Robyn put me in charge last minute. She had to run over to the hotel the guys are in and make sure they were up. She also had to bring the suits to them," Braelyn said as she opened the curtains covering the single set of windows.

Sky shielded her eyes from the sudden burst of extra light before she began to eat. "This is really good, Brae! Thank you."

"No need to thank me yet, Sky. When the day is over and you and Sonic are have officially come together, then you can thank me," the girl winked before she left the bride-to-be alone to eat.

**-XxXxX-**

_Bang bang bang. _"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, IF YOU ARE NOT AWAKE WHEN I COME IN, YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

Emerald eyes shot open as a certain cobalt hedgehog recognized the voice. Panicking, he threw the covers off and threw a robe on before going to the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to reveal a slender grey fox with dark green eyes wearing red sweatpants, a red sweatshirt, and brown ankle boots. Her hair was up in a grey baseball cap and she had sunglasses resting on the rim on the cap. He stepped aside as she walked in, followed by several of the other guys.

"Good, you're awake," she greeted as he closed the door.

"Only because you scared me half to death with your loud death threat," he grumbled as he stretched.

"It was the only thing that would get through that thick skull of yours. Honestly, with the way you've been sleeping lately, you could sleep right through World War Three if it ever happened," Robyn quipped.

He sighed. "Whatever. Is that all you wanted to do, was to scare my little heart out of my sleep?"

"I come bearing gifts," she said mockingly as Shadow the Hedgehog came forward with their suits on a hotel rack.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about those, considering that I am hardly ever required to wear clothes to an event," he retorted playfully.

The fox rolled her eyes like she was serious, but there was a familiar mischievous glint in her eyes. "This isn't ANY event, however. This is THE event of your life, Sonic. This is the day that you become a permanent significant other to a certain pink echidna. Now you will wear the suit with class because gosh darn it, you are SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"

"YES MA'AM!" the hedgehog yelled as he stood up straight and saluted her.

The others guys started laughing while Robyn smirked. She held her hand up. "Up high, hedgehog. We've still got it."

"We'll always have it, no matter what," he grinned as he high-fived her.

Robyn's little brother, Tails, stepped forward once everyone had finally calmed down. "So what's the plan, big sis?"

"First, breakfast. We'll go from there," the fox replied as she made her way back to the door.

**-XxXxX-**

"Sky, can you please stop fidgeting?!" Zoey exclaimed a bit irritably as she continued working on the echidna.

"Sorry Zoey," Sky apologized sheepishly, "I'm just not used to someone working on my looks for almost an hour and I have to sit the entire time."

"Okay, understandable. Just stay still for another minute, I'm almost done," the red fox said as she brushed a tiny bit of lip gloss across the echidna's lips.

The echidna clutched the arm rests of the chair she was sitting in as Zoey continued to work. The day had passed pretty quickly so far. After breakfast, the girls (minus Robyn) had taken Sky out to pick up the dresses, some makeup, and a variety of other things. Lunch had been a quick stop at a local sandwich shop, and then they had returned to the mansion to finally get ready. They were using one of the guest rooms on the third floor to prepare the echidna, seeing as people would be coming in and out of the house from the lower floors.

"And… done!" Zoey announced as she stepped back to admire her work.

Slowly, Sky turned to look in the mirror. Her eyes widened as she let out a gasp. The first thing she noticed was her eyes. Zoey had slightly darkened the blue around her eyes, making them seem a bit bigger. She had a pretty shade of silver eyeshadow on her eyelids, waterproof blue eye liner before her eyes, and waterproof black mascara on her lashes, making her eyes really pop. Her blush was a pale pink with a hint of glitter, and her lip gloss was a simple clear. Next, Zoey had arranged Sky's dreads in a way that made them seem longer and fuller, as well as slightly wavy. They were also soft to the touch and smelled like a mix of roses and vanilla.

"Zoey… oh goodness… I don't know what to say!" the stunned echidna exclaimed.

"Like it? Love it?" the fox asked.

"My appreciation goes far beyond that! Oh Zoey, I can't thank you enough!" Sky cried as she hugged her friend.

"Heh, you're welcome," Zoey smiled as she returned the embrace, "Just be careful not to ruin your look."

"I will, I promise. Is Robyn back yet?" the echidna asked.

"I don't think so… Amy is supposed to be keeping an eye out for her," the fox said as she glanced towards the door.

Just then, the pink hedgehog ran into the room. "Zoey! Is Sky done yet? Robyn just returned with the guys!"

"I just finished. Gather all of the girls up here!" Zoey called.

With a nod, Amy ran back downstairs. Zoey and Sky listened as Amy called for the girls and greeted the guys. Within a few minutes, the girls that made up the bridesmaids, flower girl, and security were gathered in the room. They immediately complimented Sky on her look and told Zoey that she did a fantastic job with the bride-to-be.

"Thanks girls," Zoey laughed.

Sky smiled at the small group: Zoey, Amy, Robyn, Braelyn, Cream the Rabbit, Rouge the Bat, and Alustriel Prower. "Girls, I still can't thank you enough for making this happen. Through this, I got to know some of you and I got closer to the rest of you that I had already known. I thank you very much from the bottom of my heart."

"Group hug!" Cream exclaimed.

All of the girls meshed together, laughing and "Aww"ing. Once they broke apart, Braelyn stepped forward. "To say our thanks for allowing us to be a part of this, we got you a little something to wear."

Sky watched as the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black box. The echidna gasped as Braelyn revealed a beautiful sapphire necklace. It was on a dark silver chain, and the sapphire was surrounded by fourteen small diamonds. "Oh my… Braelyn… everyone… it's beautiful!" **(A/N: see ending A/N for a link to the necklace pic)**

Braelyn smiled as she removed the necklace from the box and fastened it around Sky's neck. It was a perfect fit. "There… congratulations, Sky. We're all proud of you."

Tears started to well up in the echidna's eyes. "Thank you… all of you…"

"Hey, mind your makeup!" Zoey reminded her.

Sky quickly nodded and blinked a few times. "Okay… I think I'm good now. Come on, girls, we have to get ready!"

"YEAH!" the girls cheered.

**-XxXxX-**

It was nearly time. Sonic tugged at the collar of his suit and took a deep breath. "Ye, Chaos…"

"Relax, Sonic," Tails said as he smiled at his long-time friend, "Nothing can possibly go wrong. Not with all of the precautions we took."

"I know, but still… I'm anxious," the blue hedgehog mumbled.

Just then, Robyn entered the room. The guys' eyes widened as she stood in a strapless dark silver dress that reached the floor. It was tightly fitted in the upper body and flared out in the lower body. At the top of the dress was a sequined design that formed a triangle. In the lower part, it was slit like it would expose her left leg, except another section of the dress covered it **(A/N: See ending a/n for a link to the dress pic)**.She wore her silver locket around her neck and her hair fell to her shoulder blades in even curls. Her eyes shined brightly and her lips were creased in a small glossy smile.

"Big sis, you look amazing!" Tails exclaimed once he got over his shock.

Robyn grinned and hugged her brother. "And you look so handsome, Tails."

"Dang, Robyn. I didn't know Zoey and Braelyn were that good with this kind of thing!" Silver the Hedgehog exclaimed.

Robyn laughed. "You should see what they've done to Sky."

Upon hearing his fiancée's name, Sonic swallowed. "What…?"

"I won't say anything else. Get in your order, guys. Knuckles, come with me since you offered to walk Sky down the aisle," Robyn said.

Knuckles the Echidna nodded. "All right… one question. How did you get so tall?"

Robyn lifted her dress up a little bit so the guys could see the sparkly dark blue, close-toed heels **(A/N: See ending a/n for a link to the shoes pic. Gold, purple, pink, and blue belong to the bridesmaids; the silver pair belongs to Sky)**. "I'm just glad the heel isn't super skinny. I would have fallen by now."

The guys chuckled. Knuckles nodded again. "All right, let's go."

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic followed the priest as the dog made his way to the altar. The wedding was going to be held outside in the backyard, since there was a considerable amount of space. Once again, he had to commend Zoey and Braelyn for their creative instincts. The backyard had flower petals all over the grass and the altar, alternating from roses to daisies to violets. There were three rows of chairs on both sides of the carpet leading to the altar. The altar was a simple extended piece of flooring that was shielded by a dark blue rug. This way, the bride and the groom would be a bit higher up than the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.

"Your friends have done an excellent job," the dog commented as he took his place.

Sonic smiled. "I can't thank them enough."

People started to file into the backyard, causing Sonic to fall silent. He saw Blaze the Cat, Marine the Raccoon, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, Vanilla the Rabbit, Sonic's siblings Sonic and Manic, Rouge, Alustriel, Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, Storm the Albatross, Sally Acorn, Nicole the Lynx, Rotor the Walrus, Antoine d'Coolette and his wife Bunnie Rabbott, Mina Mongoose and her boyfriend Ash, Mighty the Armadillo, Big the Cat, E-123 Omega, and a bunch of other familiar faces from over the years. They all took their designated seats and some waved at Sonic, who waved back.

Finally, after everything had calmed down, a flute started to play in the back. They were playing a flute version of "Kissed You Goodnight" by Gloriana, and it was also a solo. The back door opened, and everyone turned to see the first pair of bridesmaid and groomsman, who were Amy and Tails. Tails looked absolutely dashing in his suit and Amy looked gorgeous in the same dress as Robyn, only in deep red and sparkly gold heels instead of blue. Her quills were tied back in a bun, and her eyes glowed. Tails took his place next to Sonic and Amy next to where Sky would stand.

The next pair was Shadow and Robyn. Robyn was practically dying of happiness while Shadow smiled a bit at her. He also looked very handsome, even while standing next to the beautiful fox. Robyn took her spot next to Amy and Shadow next to Tails.

The third pair consisted of Zoey and Silver. Silver in a suit made Blaze almost drool, while Zoey looked just as good in a blue version of Robyn's dress and sparkly purple heels. The grey highlights in her hair were temporarily gone, and her hair was in a ponytail draped over her left shoulder. Her eyes twinkled with excitement while her lips stood out in a deep pink color. Silver stood next to Shadow and Zoey next to Robyn.

The final pair was Braelyn and her fiancé, Mathius. Mathius looked stunning in his suit, customized with a hint of red, which really set off his olive skin. Braelyn was wearing a dark purple version of Robyn's dress and sparkly pale pink heels. Her light blonde hair had been straightened and her dark green eyes were bright with excitement. Her engagement ring flashed as she took her place next to Zoey and Mathius next to Silver.

Charmy Bee came out by himself. He was wearing a small version of the groomsmens' suits and carrying the rings on a velvet cushion. Sonic's ring was a simple platinum band with one diamond carved into the bottom side. Engraved on the inside were the words "I love you". Sky's ring consisted of two silver bands connected by one big diamond that was surrounded by five smaller diamonds. The entire ring almost had a blue-ish tint to it, and the same three words were engraved on the inside of the bottom band **(A/N: See ending a/n for the links to the rings)**. Charmy took a seat at the front next to Vector, who smiled at him.

Finally, the one they had been waiting for arrived. Sonic's jaw actually dropped as he took in his bride-to-be, who was walking with Knuckles. To say that she looked gorgeous would have been an understatement for the hedgehog. Her eyes and dreads looked perfect, from what he could see past her veil. The veil was lightly covering her face and went all the way down to her mid-rib cage and had an interesting sequin design on it. Her wedding dress was strapless and had sequins from the top of the dress to the bottom of her dress. Then it had a cross-like design of sequins on the front side of her left hip. The bottom of the dress was simple velvet except for the section of lace and flower designs past her knees, the velvet making the lace look like it was separate from the rest of the dress **(A/N: See ending a/n for a link to the dress pic)**. The sparkly silver heels she wore completed her look.

Sonic thought he would faint as the echidna took her place across from him, allowing Knuckles to sit down in front. "H-Hey…"

"Hey yourself. You look amazing," she said softly.

"You look… beyond amazing. I can't even describe your beauty right now," he murmured.

"If everyone will settle down, we shall begin," the dog called out.

Everyone in the audience immediately fell silent. The dog cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the coming together of one of the greatest heroes and his lovely fiancée. The step which you are about to take is the most important into which human beings can come. It is a union of two people who have found love with each other. Your lives will change, your responsibilities will increase, but your joy will be multiplied if you are sincere and earnest with your pledge to one another."

The dog looked at Sonic. "Sonic, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Sonic said as he stared into Sky's eyes.

"Sky, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?" the dog asked Sky.

"I do," Sky replied without hesitance.

"Take hands and repeat after me: I, Sonic, take you, Sky, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward. Sky," the dog instructed.

"I, Sonic, take you, Sky, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward," Sonic recited.

"Sky, repeat after me: I, Sky, take you, Sonic, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward," the dog instructed.

"I, Sky, take you, Sonic, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward," the echidna recited.

"Is there anyone who objects to the union of this marriage?" the priest asked.

A blue ear twitched at the sudden sound of people crying in the audience. When no one replied, the dog glanced at Charmy. He stood up and brought the rings forward. Then the dog looked at Sonic. "Do you have a ring for the bride? Please place the ring on the bride's finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed."

Sonic took the beautiful diamond ring and, minding Sky's stunned gasp, recited while putting it on her finger: "With this ring, I thee wed."

The dog looked at Sky, who took Sonic's ring from the cushion and motioned for Charmy to sit back down. "Is there a ring for the groom? Please place the ring on the groom's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed."

"With this ring I thee wed," Sky recited as she slipped the ring onto Sonic's finger.

The dog nodded. "Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection and your sincerity to each other…"

Sonic temporarily stopped listened as the dog went on about love and how beautiful of a thing it is. He couldn't stop staring into Sky's eyes, her beautiful blue eyes. He noticed that she was trying not to cry as she gently bit her lip. He smiled at her and squeezed her hands, trying to keep her calm. She smiled back, revealing the same smile that Sonic had fallen in love with. Beside them, the groomsmen were trying not to cry and the bridesmaids were actually crying.

"In as much as Sonic and Sky have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other… by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the dog said as he stepped back.

This was it. Sonic released Sky's hands and placed his hands on her bare shoulders. He smiled and leaned forward, closing his eyes as she did the same thing-

!

Their eyes flew open as people started screaming in the audience. There was a sudden smell of burnt grass, and the couple turned to see sections of the backyard on fire. Sky's eyes widened as she clutched Sonic's arm. "What happened?!"

"A laser! From up there!" Tails called as he pointed up.

Everyone looked up. In the sky was a massive bird-shaped robot. And in the cockpit of that robot was…

Sonic growled. "DR. EGGMAN!"

"Oh ho ho ho! How nice to see you again, Sonic! And what's this? Everyone gathered for a special occasion, I see," Dr. Eggman said.

He then noticed Sky and the wedding ring on her finger. "Ahh… so you and my former minion are finally getting hitched! Let me give you my congratulations, hedgehog…"

He pressed a button. A door opened in the robot's stomach and hundreds of Egg Pawns fell from the sky and landed on the ground, startling everyone who was close by. Sonic growled again as they continued to fall. Sky clutched his arm tighter and glared at the doctor. Robyn and Zoey were dumbfounded, as were everyone else. Alustriel and Rouge ripped their nice clothes off to reveal their GUN uniforms, armed with weapons.

"You won't get away with this, doctor!" Rouge called as she and Alustriel stood side-by-side.

"Oh, won't I? Egg Pawns, ATTACK!" the doctor ordered.

"EVERYONE WATCH OUT!" Alustriel screamed as the Egg Pawns opened fired.

Everyone immediately scattered and started fighting for their lives. Sonic and Shadow started tearing through some with spin-dashes, while Sky used her powers to blow some up. Rouge and Alustriel teamed up with their weapons, and Braelyn and Mathius teamed up with their bows and steel arrows. Espio used his ninja moves while Vector used sheer strength to tear them apart. Silver and Blaze combined their psychokinesis and flames to rip through a line of Egg Pawns. Everyone else used common fighting skills to defend themselves.

Eggman watched as the massive group fought. "Interesting… very interesting indeed…"

Sonic looked up briefly and noticed that Eggman was falling back from the fight. He growled again. "He's gonna pay for interrupting the wedding… ROBYN! SKY! TO ME!"

The two girls ran over, kicking their heels off and following the hedgehog. "What's up, Sonic?" Robyn asked.

"Eggman's getting away from the fight. Soon he'll disappear and probably make an even bigger attack when we're distracted. We have to stop him now, before he gets any farther!" Sonic said.

"Say no more," Sky grinned.

The trio ran towards the doctor. Then Tails came after them with the X Tornado. "Hop on, guys!"

The trio hopped on and Tails flew the plane closer to Eggman. "What's the plan!?"

"We're just going to have to attack!" Sonic called as he jumped off and spin-dashed towards the robot.

Unfortunately, it was going to take more than a simple spin-dash to break through the robot. Sonic slammed into it and bounced right off, yelping in slight pain. Tails flew downwards and caught him, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the robot's hand. "That was too close!"

"Sky, try your powers!" Robyn cried.

"CHAOS… SWIFT!" Sky cried.

Several blue spears shot across the sky and slammed into the robot. It stumbled a bit, causing Eggman to hit his head on the glass of the cockpit. He cursed loudly and aimed at the X Tornado. Rockets and lasers flew at the plane, but thanks to Tails's expert flying skills, he was able to dodge them. He fired several lasers back, but they barely did a thing.

"This robot is really tough, Sonic!" he cried.

Sonic turned to Robyn. "Can't you try anything?!"

"I… I don't know! I haven't been able to access my powers since the last time!" Robyn worried.

"Try, Robyn! We've got nothing else to go on!" Sky begged.

Robyn closed her eyes and reached for the locket around her neck. She clutched it tightly, wishing and hoping with every ounce of her body. Sonic and Sky watched as Tails continued to fly around avoiding Eggman's attacks. Suddenly, a smile curved the grey fox's lips as a familiar feeling rushed through her body. Her eyes shot open, and she held her hands out. "Think you two can attempt a duo attack?"

Sonic grinned. "No problemo!"

He and Sky grasped hands and began to spin. Faster, faster, faster, until they couldn't see anything around them. Robyn grinned triumphantly as a purple lightning-fire began to crackle in the palms of her hands. "Starfire… cover them!"

The purple lightning-fire grew and covered the spinning duo. Robyn looked down at her brother. "Tails, fly us closer!"

Tails nodded and began to fly closer. Eggman watched as they came closer and his eyes widened when he saw the familiar power. "Oh, no-"

"GO!" Robyn screamed as she blasted Sonic and Sky forward.

Still spinning, the couple slammed into the robot and drove right through it, creating a giant hole in its chest. Eggman screamed with fury as the robot began to crumble to the ground. He pressed the eject button to escape with his pod, but Sonic and Sky came spinning back and slammed into his pod. They stopped, hovering in the air, crackling with Starfire energy. They grinned at each other before socking Eggman right in the stomach and sending him flying.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR !" the doctor hollered as he disappeared into the sky.

Sonic and Sky watched before Tails came by and caught them with the X Tornado. Robyn was grinning as the Starfire energy faded from their bodies. "Great job guys! You got him good!"

"We better get back to the others," Tails said as he turned the plane around.

**-XxXxX-**

"This is one awesome wedding reception!" Sonic exclaimed as he grinned at his friends.

"Mind you, it took us forever to prepare this room," Braelyn said as she held a glass of punch up.

Everyone was gathered in the massive sound room for the wedding reception. By the time Sonic and the others had returned to the backyard, everyone else had pretty much finished off the Egg Pawns. Sonic and Sky were able to finally kiss and everyone went nuts when they did so. Then Robyn and Braelyn had led the way into the room and the wedding reception had begun. Everyone was either dancing or enjoying the massive wedding cake that Cream and Vanilla had made. Right now, Sonic was dancing with Braelyn while Mathius danced with Sky.

"Yeah, and I couldn't be more grateful to you and the others. You're the best friends I could have ever asked for," he said as he hugged the girl.

She hugged him back. "All right, hedgehog. What do you want me to do now?"

"Play a song for us?" he requested.

She smiled. "I have the perfect one."

She quickly went over to Mathius, smiling at Sky as she asked to take her fiancé back. The echidna nodded and then made her way over to her husband. "Hey, you."

"Hey you absolutely gorgeous and amazing wife," he whispered as he kissed her.

She giggled. "What are Braelyn and Mathius up to now?"

"A song," he said as he pointed to the stage.

Braelyn and Mathius were sat at the microphone while Sonic, Manic, and Zoey sat in the background on piano, drums, and violin. Everyone fell quiet when Mathius tapped on the microphone. "Hey guys. We've gotten a request from the blue dude himself to play a song, and my lovely fiancée has come up with a great one."

Braelyn smiled. "It's called 'Just A Kiss' by Lady Antebellum, and I think it's perfect for this moment in time. Enjoy."

The lights dimmed a little. Sonia and Manic began to play piano and cymbals simultaneously. Mathius and Braelyn held guitars in their hands, Mathius an electric and Braelyn an acoustic. Then Braelyn began to sing. **(A/N: italicized will be Braelyn, underlined will be Mathius, and bold with be both of them :D)**

_Lying here with you so close to me_

_It's hard to fight these feelings_

_When it feels so hard to breathe_

_Caught up in this moment_

_Caught up in your smile…_

Sonic and Sky slowly began dancing as Mathius and Braelyn started playing alongside Sonia and Manic.

I've never opened up to anyone

So hard to hold back when I'm holding you

In my arms…

**But we don't need to rush this**

**Let's just take it slow…**

They paused briefly and then started the chorus, with Zoey joining in.

**Just a kiss, on your lips, in the moonlight**

**Just a touch of the fire, burning so bright**

**No, I don't want to mess this thing up**

**No, I don't want to push too far**

**Just a shot in the dark that you just might**

**Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life**

**So baby I'm all right**

**With just a kiss goodnight**

Zoey, Braelyn, and Mathius temporarily dropped out to give Sonia and Manic a solo. Mathius hit a couple of notes before Braelyn started singing again. Sonic and Sky continued to stare into each other eyes while several other people started to dance as well.

_I know that if we give this a little time_

_It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find_

_It's never felt so real_

No it's never felt

**So right…**

They repeated the chorus, extending the last word a little before going a bit faster. Zoey went to a higher note while Braelyn and Mathius came together. Mathius was a bit more noticeable in his notes here, but Braelyn could still be seen strumming away.

**No, I don't want to say…**

**Goodnight…**

I know it's time to leave

**But you'll be in my dreams…**

Mathius rang out a couple of notes while everyone else slowed down. Then it was back to Sonia and Manic.

Tonight…

_Tonight…_

**Tonight…**

Everyone started playing together again for the final chorus. Sonic could see tears in Sky's eyes, so he pulled her close and kissed her softly.

**Just a kiss, on your lips, in the moonlight**

**Just a touch of the fire burning SO bright**

**No I don't want to mess this thing up**

**I don't wanna push too far..!**

**Just a shot in the dark that you just might**

**Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life**

So baby, I'm all right

**Ohhh Whoaaa…**

_Let's do this right_

**With just a kiss, goodnight…**

It was back to Sonia and Manic, with Zoey holding a high note. Sonic and Sky broke apart and smiled at each other. Now Sky was really crying.

_With a kiss goodnight_

Kiss **goodnight…**

Sonic and Sky stopped and cheered with everyone else as Braelyn and Mathius bowed. Manic tossed his drumsticks into the air and Zoey and Sonia had to wipe their eyes. Sky was still crying as she turned back to her husband.

He held her close. "It's all right, love…"

"You and everyone are the most incredible people I have ever met… thank you," she whispered.

The two locked themselves in a passionate kiss while the others cheered around them. Then Sonic pulled back and smiled, squeezing Sky's hand with the ring on it. No matter what, they were finally together after months and months of waiting. The night could not have been more perfect.

**Once again, AWWW! Everything turned out all right for the happy couple. I was very flattered when Sky asked for a sequel. I hope she enjoys this as much as she did the other story! And I hope you guys enjoyed this too. Remember, I am taking requests for short stories!**

**I have the links to the dresses and the accessories here. Obviously, remove the spaces to follow the links.**

**For Sky's wedding dress: ** images/ uploads/ Wedding-dresses/ Strapless-Wedding-Dresses/ Wedding-dresses-Strapless-Wedding-Dresses-BW11472. jpg

**For Sky's veil: ** wp-content/ uploads/ 2011/12/ elegant-and-unique-wedding-veils. jpg

**For Sky's necklace: ** prod_images/ 20640_L. jpg

**For Sky and the bridesmaids' shoes: ** acatalog/ small_size_sexy_heels_not_louboutin_Cinderella-Closetoe. jpg

**For Sky's ring: ** blog/ wp-content/ gallery/ wedding-rings-and-engagement-rings-for-women/ wedding-rings-and-engagement-rings-for-women-15. jpg

**For Sonic's ring: ** wp-content/ uploads/ 2010/ 06/ mens-wedding-rings1. jpg

**For the bridesmaids' dress (I changed the color for each girl): ** files/ 2011/ 04/ 15/ 1/ 1317/ 13171547/ 1a68749f7854162c_long_blue_prom_dresses .jpg


	18. When the Darkness Fades

**Hello readers! I'm here with another short story :D this one was inspired by a scene in a story by my good friend, BlackSandHeart. She's AMAZING. You should go check her stuff out. On that note, on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own Braelyn, Aero, and Robyn. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.**

_When the Darkness Fades…_

"Robyn! Where are you going?" Sonic the Hedgehog called out.

The grey fox stopped in the middle of the yard and threw a quick smile over her shoulder. "Just on a walk. I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"By yourself? And when it's almost dark? I don't think that is a good idea. What if Aero comes after you?" the hedgehog asked with a look of concern on his face.

Robyn gave him a Look. "Sonic, I can take care of myself. I'll be fine, I promise."

"But… oh, all right," Sonic sighed. "But if anything comes up, give us a sign."

"I will, I will. See you later," the fox waved before she turned and walked off towards the forest.

As soon as she was gone, Sonic jumped up to the roof of the mansion. He sat down next to the person who was already lying there. "Did you hear that conversation?"

Braelyn Hallowcloak opened her jade eyes. "I did."

"Can you follow her? I don't feel comfortable with her by herself. Aero might try and pull a fast one on her," Sonic said.

Braelyn nodded and stood up. The wind blew through her blonde hair and waved her grey sheepskin cloak around. "I'll do my best. Keep an ear out for a signal, though."

Sonic grinned at her. "Thanks, Brae-Bear. You're the best."

"I know," the girl teased before she jumped off the roof and landed on the ground below.

Sonic watched as she disappeared into the trees. A frown crossed his lips as the wind blew through his cobalt quills. _I __hope__ nothing happens… it would be nice for once if Aero didn't try to pull his crap on Robyn…_

**-XxXxX-**

Robyn stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she walked around. The wind blew through the trees, causing leaves of various colors to fall from their branches. It was somewhat dark in the forest, indicating that the night was beginning to come. There were vines in several places, luckily out of the way of her feet. The grey fox cupped her hands together and watched as a dazzling red leaf landed on her hands. It was a perfect shade of medium red, tinged with gold and brown. She stared at it in awe as she moved it to her right hand and touched it with her left index finger. It didn't feel like a crunchy, dead leaf. It was somewhat soft and steady. The fox's green eyes gleamed as the wind blew the leaf from her hands.

"Well, well… I can see why you love autumn so much, my dear."

The familiar voice made her freeze. She grimaced. _Oh, no. No, no, __no__…why now? Why can't I enjoy a simple walk?!_

She swallowed. "What do you want, Aero?"

The voice chuckled deeply. Then it was suddenly right in her ear. "I was just taking a walk, like you."

She whirled around with her hand raised. Instead of meeting flesh, though, her hand met air. She blinked and slowly lowered her hand. She swallowed again as she tried to regain her confidence. "That's the biggest load of bullcrap that I've ever heard out of your mouth."

"Ahh, darling… you wound me," the voice said.

Robyn put her fists up. "Show yourself, you pathetic creep."

For several seconds, there was no answer. Then Aero appeared out of the darkness behind her. "Boo," he whispered against her neck.

Him being that close made her fur stand on end and she whipped around with her hand raised again. Due to him being faster than her, however, he simply caught her wrist with a smirk. The fox's eyes widened as he kissed the back of her hand while keeping a firm grip on her wrist. She tried to pry his fingers off, but that only made him tighten his grip more.

"Come now, Robyn… why must you resist? You're only delaying the inevitable," he said smoothly.

"The only inevitable around here is me kicking your puny little ass," Robyn growled.

Aero chuckled again. With a slight tug, he yanked her to him and wrapped his free arm around her waist. She gasped at the sudden action before turning her head to glare at him. "Let me go!"

His lips hovered over hers. "Pray tell, why would I do that?"

For a few split seconds, she thought he was going to kiss her. She could see it in his eyes; he wanted to do it. Therefore, she was extremely surprised when he released her wrist so he could brush her hair away from her neck. He put a finger to a spot on her neck, a thoughtful expression spreading across his face. She twitched as she realized what spot he was examining.

"Yes," Aero breathed, "this is where I tasted your blood for the first time. You were so delicious…"

She smacked his hand away. "Pervert."

"Honey, I'm your pervert." He smirked before adding, "Whether you like it or not."

She growled again and summoned a flame of Starfire. "Let me GO."

He shrugged and released her. She stepped back a bit so there was some distance between them. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her green eyes were angry. The flame of Starfire was still in her hand, but her hand was shaking slightly. She could still feel his arm around her and his finger on her neck. She shuddered, and the flame went out from lack of concentration.

Aero shook his head. "Poor, sweet Robyn… why must you torment yourself? I can provide you with everything you want. Yet you continue to pick them. They who have let you down time and time again…"

The flames in her eyes grew brighter. "My friends and family will always be worth infinite times more than you, Aero!"

"Hmph. And your relationships with Sonic and Shadow…" Aero's eyes narrowed as he said the names. "What do you see in them? I can give you so much more and be better to you. They are not worthy of a rose like you."

"Shut UP!" Robyn yelled as she summoned a ball of Starfire and flung it at him.

Since he didn't see the attack coming, the Starfire hit the hedgehog right in the face and sent him flying into the tree behind him. The impact caused the tree to shake and more leaves fell from the branches. Robyn was breathing heavily as Aero emerged from the pile of leaves that had settled on him. His eyes settled on her, but for once they weren't filled with lust. He did not look happy with her.

"Fight me, you coward," Robyn spat.

"So be it," Aero hissed.

They lunged at each other and the battle began. Robyn delivered a ferocious uppercut to Aero's chin and knocked him into the air. She jumped up and blasted another ball of Starfire at him. This one hit his stomach and he slammed into the ground. The fox landed on the ground and watched as he got up. He flipped into a spin-dash and came at her so fast that she had no time to think. He rammed into her and she yelled as he drove her into another tree. The impact was so great that they actually tore through the tree. Robyn fell onto the ground while Aero stood over her. He took the opportunity to start punching her in the stomach. She coughed and spluttered with each blow. Although she was gasping, however, she wasn't done. When given the opportunity, she looked up and kicked him right where it counted, causing the hedgehog to double over in extreme pain. Robyn then took the chance to get up and backhand him hard across the face before kicking him in the stomach. Aero stumbled backwards, grunting in more pain now. Robyn came over and started beating the crap out of him. Years' worth of kicks, punches, and Starfire attacks were unleashed on the vampiric experiment. Aero retaliated with Chaos attacks and more spin-dashes. They were evenly matched; it was a matter of who would tire out first.

Finally, Aero fell to the ground when Robyn used a final Starfire attack. Both hedgehog and fox were breathing heavily; they had a multitude of wounds and both had taxed a lot of their energy. Robyn put her foot on Aero's chest and pressed down. Aero wheezed slightly as the pressure fell on him like a weight of bricks. He stared up into her eyes, her dark green eyes, and saw a flash of victory. He frowned at the thought.

"Well… seems you are confident about this battle," he whispered.

"You're done, Aero… done," Robyn said coldly.

A cold smirk slowly curled his lips. "Or am I…?"

Her eyes widened as he grabbed her ankle and threw her off of him. She hit the ground with a cry of pain. He stood up slowly and clenched his fist. Before her brain could process it, she was being wrapped in the shadows of the trees. She grimaced; she'd forgotten that Aero could bend the shadows and dark energy to his will. The shadows dragged her backwards a little and hung her there while Aero made his way over. He had a confident smirk on his face while she struggled to break free. All the while, she raged in her mind about forgetting that important detail.

"No so confident now, are you?" he asked.

She glared at him. "Why? Why do you try so hard?"

He chuckled. "Sweet, sweet girl… you are meant to be mine. You should have been mine from the very beginning, instead of that echidna brat interrupting me. I am the only one worthy of you. Not my brother or that pesky blue hedgehog."

"You are a speck of dirt, Aero. My friends and family will always be better than you," Robyn huffed.

"You won't be thinking that when I'm done with you," he purred as he lifted a finger and stroked her cheek.

Her eyes widened as he placed a kiss on her lips. She immediately turned her head, which is what Aero wanted. He chuckled again before kissing her neck, right on the spot where he had bitten her the first time. Her heart froze as she realized what she had done. She had unknowingly given him access to the spot where it had all begun… and he was going to try it again.

_DAMMIT! No! I should have listened to Sonic! No! _she screamed in her head.

Her breath came out rapidly. Aero breathed in and smiled wickedly. "Don't worry, Robyn. It'll all be over soon enough…"

"_**NOOOOOO!**_" Robyn screamed as Aero revealed his fangs and dove in.

Suddenly, an arrow flew way over Aero's head **(A/N: hehe, Aero, arrow…)**. Then a familiar figure swung down from the branches above and slammed their feet into Aero's side, knocking the hedgehog away from the trapped fox. Aero hit a tree and grounded as the figure landed on the ground. The person had curly blonde hair, dark green eyes, and a furious expression.

"Braelyn!" Robyn exclaimed, relieved.

Braelyn turned to her friend. "You're not hurt?"

Robyn slowly shook her head. "No… but I'm extremely tired… Braelyn…"

Without another word, she drifted into unconsciousness. The petite human nodded before turning on Aero. "You SICK bastard!"

Despite the pain he was in, the hedgehog smirked. "Braelyn. What a pleasant surprise."

"Don't play with me. You can't leave the poor girl alone for one second!" Braelyn growled.

Aero tried to sit up, but Braelyn pulled out her silver compound bow, nocked a silver steel-tipped arrow, and aimed it at him. "Make a move. I dare you."

Her voice was cold. Aero stared at her with a little bit of wonder. He had never seen her like this before. Sweet, lovely Braelyn, who didn't seem capable of being extremely mad. But the bow and the arrow aiming at his face told him that she was pissed. Of course she would be; Robyn was one of her dearest friends. Seeing as the fox was unconscious in shadow, he had definitely crossed the line.

He scoffed. He shouldn't care. Robyn was _his_. "Oh, you do now?"

He stood up. Braelyn kept the arrow aimed at him. "Do anything else to her, and I will pull the string."

They stared at each other. Braelyn's angry jade eyes met Aero's expressionless black ones. It was a shame, really, the hedgehog noted as he examined her. Braelyn was a beautiful girl, and would have made a delightful addition. But not only would he have to deal with Sonic and Shadow, he would also have to deal with Braelyn's fiancé. He had witnessed first-hand how severely ticked off Mathius had gotten when Braelyn had been raped. As powerful as he was, Aero doubted that he could handle Mathius's rage.

He chuckled. "I doubt you would have the guts to do it, Braelyn. You're such a lovely girl…"

She growled. "You have five seconds to get the fuck out of here."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Braelyn saw a flash of deceit in his eyes as he turned around. Without warning, he turned back around and lunged for her, fangs exposed and eyes filled with bloodlust. She released the string, and the arrow flew right into Aero's eye. The hedgehog _roared_ as the steel tip penetrated his vision. He stopped mid-lunge and clutched his eye, screaming as the pain ran through his body. Braelyn put her bow away and did a spin-kick right to his head. He flew into another tree and hollered even louder. Then a blue blur rushed in and stopped by Braelyn's side.

Sonic gawked at the vampire. Then he turned to Braelyn, who had her arms crossed. "What did you do…?"

"He deserved it," Braelyn snapped.

Sonic shrugged. "Fine, fine. Let's clean him up."

**-XxXxX-**

It was dark. Very, very dark.

Robyn groaned. She looked around, seeing nothing but black. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her feet. She almost panicked until she remembered what had happened. Aero had attacked her, and Braelyn had come to rescue her in the nick of time…

_Braelyn! That means she's facing Aero by herself! Oh come on, Robyn, wake up!_ she thought.

"Robyn…! Wake up!"

The voice was different. It wasn't Braelyn, and it wasn't Aero. It sounded like…

"Sonic…" she mumbled.

A hand was pressed to her forehead. The pain in her head slowly washed away. She opened her eyes and watched as the darkness faded away, revealing two familiar faces that she was glad to see. "Sonic… Braelyn…"

"Robyn," they both chorused as they leaned in to hug her.

The fox accepted the embraces before blinking several times. There was lots of light. She then realized that she was lying down. She sat up and felt a pillow against her back. She was in a bed, covered with blankets. "Wha… What…?"

"Relax," Sonic assured. "You're back at home."

Robyn rubbed her eyes. "What happened…?"

"Braelyn saved you. She shot an arrow into Aero's eye, and that's when I showed up," the hedgehog replied.

The fox stared at her human friend. "…You did what?!"

"He acted like he was going to leave, and then he turned around and went for me. I had an arrow ready, so I released it," the petite blonde said.

A grin curled Robyn's lips. "Did he scream?"

"I doubt he'll be bothering us for a while," Braelyn smiled as she patted her bow and arrows.

**And that's a wrap! So kids, the lesson is this: Never go walking alone at night, especially if you have a vampire stalker. Remember, I'm still taking requests for short stories. See ya later!**


	19. Girl Power

**Whoop whoop! Heeeellloooo! (Delayed) thanks go to **_**jakeroo123, GreatGrape, SilverSilence14, Chaotic Hedgehog, BlackSandHeart,**__**Strife the Dark 152, and Maraya Prower!**_

_**jakeroo123:**_** Thanks for the idea! I know it's been completely delayed, but I shall write a story with your idea. :D**

_**GreatGrape: **_**Thanks for the tidbit of help!**

_**SilverSilence14: **_**I'm glad you thought it was cute. I hope you enjoyed the rest of my stories, and I hope you'll enjoy this one too!**

_**Chaotic Hedgehog: **_**Yes. Braelyn ticked off is NOT a good thing.**

**Aero: *glares at Chaos* Just because you were created first does NOT mean-**

**Robyn: AERO! SHUT UP!**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Yes, he is a jerk.**

**Aero: *sticks his tongue out* Meeehhhh.**

**Braelyn: I'll GLADLY shoot him again! *aims her bow at his face*  
>Aero: *sweatdrops and Chaos Controls away*<strong>

**Hehe. I hope you enjoyed the other chapters, and I hope you enjoy this one too!**

_**Strife the Dark 152: **_**Thanks for the ideas! Now to get to work!**

_**Maraya Prower:**_** Yes! It pays to listen to Sonic sometimes! And I'm glad that you think Aero's a good villain! It took me FOREVER to design him… xD**

**Anyway, this one is another story for the lovely Sky-The-Echidna-21 of deviantART. Can I say once again that I am absolutely flattered that she loves my writing so much!? :D**

**Disclaimer:**** I own Robyn, Alustriel, Zoey, Braelyn, Kelly, and Aero. Sky the Echidna belongs to Sky-The-Echidna-21. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.**

Girl Power

Sky the Echidna looked around the grand kitchen and did a quick head count of her girlfriends. Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Rouge the Bat, Blaze the Cat, Robyn Prower, Alustriel Prower, Zoey Prower, and Braelyn Hallowcloak were all accounted for. The echidna couldn't help but let a huge grin cross her lips. "Great! Everyone is here!"

"Wait! We're missing Kelly!" Robyn exclaimed.

The back door suddenly opened. Everyone turned as a blue echidna came in from outside, drenched and shivering. "I'm h-here!"

"Kelly, you poor dear, what happened?" Braelyn asked as Sky handed a huge towel to Kelly.

"It started spitting down icicles. I had to sprint all the way back!" Kelly gasped as she covered herself with the towel.

"Icicles?" Cream asked.

"Not literally… but that's some cold rain!" the blue echidna shivered.

"Well, you're in a nice, warm house. Just dry yourself off and you'll be okay," Robyn smiled.

"Anyway… I have some exciting news for all of you," Sky said.

Everyone looked at her. Sky smiled. "I went to the doctor this morning after not feeling well… and I found out that I'm almost two months pregnant!"

Squeals and claps followed. "That's awesome, Sky!" Amy exclaimed.

"A baby!? So I'll be an aunt figure!?" Kelly gasped.

Sky laughed. "Yes, Kelly. You'll be the baby's aunt."

Kelly jumped up and down, clapping excitedly. "YAY!"

The kitchen exploded into more cheering. Sky found herself being congratulated on all sides and hugged a lot. "Thanks, girls!"

"Have you told Sonic yet?" Blaze asked.

Sky shook her head. "He's been with the guys all day. Probably playing video games or something of that nature."

"Knowing them, that's probably the case," Rouge nodded.

Alustriel grinned. "I say we celebrate. Robyn, can you make us something elaborate for dinner?"

"Only if you guys get out of my kitchen," her sister laughed.

**-XxXxX-**

"Curry with a side of fresh bread and pie for dessert. Mostly elaborate, yet it's simple enough to make," Robyn announced as the girls entered the dining room a while later.

Zoey's blue eyes gleamed. "Mmm… curry."

"BREAD!" Kelly yelped.

Everyone laughed and took their places at the table. The food was passed around and chatter filled the room. Sky found herself next to Kelly and Amy, with Zoey across from her and Robyn and Braelyn on both sides of Zoey. Cream was next to Braelyn, and Rouge was next to Cream. Alustriel was next to Robyn, and Blaze was next to Alustriel.

"Kelly, don't take all the bread!" Braelyn laughed as the blue echidna took a GIANT piece of bread.

Kelly pouted as she dipped it in some curry sauce. "But bread and curry sauce are good together!"

Robyn grinned as she stood up. "I propose an imaginary toast, since we don't have drinks at the moment. To Sky, Sonic, and the baby!"

"To Sky, Sonic, and the baby!" the others cheered.

Sky couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you. All of you. I'm glad I have such amazing friends."

"We ARE pretty amazing," Amy joked.

The others laughed and began to dig into their meals. Compliments were thrown at Robyn like roses, which caused her to have a huge grin on her face. She loved cooking, so it felt nice to have people appreciate her skills.

Zoey was the first one done. She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her stomach contently. "Now THAT was good. I bet the pie will be just as amazing."

"Zoey, you're such a pig!" Robyn teased.

Her sister's blue eyes gleamed. "The one and only. Sonic's got nothing on me."

Sky facepalmed. "Not only that, you're a complete tomboy."

"Yup!" Zoey grinned as she stood up to go into the kitchen.

Rouge shook her head. "Never a dull moment with Zoey around."

"It would be kinda boring without her," Cream said thoughtfully.

"Are you saying we're boring!?" Amy demanded.

Cream jumped and her face turned red. "N-No! I just-"

Amy suddenly grinned. "Just pulling your leg, Cream."

"Poor Cream," Kelly giggled as the rabbit turned cherry-red.

Zoey returned to the room with a huge slice of pie, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. The pie was fluffy, brown, and looked delicious. "I believe it's a chocolate peanut butter pie with cookie crumbs!"

Robyn giggled and nodded. "Indeed it is."

"Chocolate peanut butter pie!? Ah, Robyn, you picked my weakness," Braelyn groaned as she eyed the dessert.

Zoey put her arms around her plate protectively. "Mine. Get your own slice."

"Well I am done, so I shall," Braelyn grinned as she stood up.

Alustriel shook her head. "You guys are something else."

"Yes we are!" Cream proclaimed after recovering from her embarrassed state.

The doorbell rang, causing Robyn's ears to prick. She stood up abruptly, her green eyes staring ahead. "I'll get it."

She left the room in a hurry. The others stared after her until she disappeared from view. "That was kinda weird," Amy said.

Braelyn re-entered the room at that moment with a slice of pie bigger than Zoey's. She sat down after noticing Robyn's absence. "Where'd Robyn go?"

"The doorbell rang," Sky said as she stared at the pie.

Braelyn giggled. "Looks good, doesn't it?"

Sky nodded. "I'll need to get some before you guys eat it all."

She stood up, but a sudden shriek caused her to fall back into her seat. The others jumped at the interruption. Zoey stared out of the room. "ROBYN!?"

Everyone immediately got up and headed out to the hallway. Braelyn and Zoey were the last ones to stand up, letting their forks fall onto their plates with loud clangs. Their slices of pie were forgotten as everyone left the room.

**-XxXxX-**

Zoey stopped in the foyer. "Robyn?!"

The others stopped behind her. The front door was wide open, revealing a strikingly gorgeous sunset. The sun was a ball of fire over the tree line, and the sky was a mix of pink, blue, red, and dark blue with wispy streaks of clouds. The rain had lessened to a gradual sprinkle, so it was still relatively cool outside.

Robyn suddenly appeared in the driveway. Her back was to the girls as they rushed out to her side. Her fists were clenched as she glared at someone. That someone was a black hedgehog with neon-green streaks in his quills and on his arms, legs, and shoulders. He had very defined chest hair and black eyes. His shoes looked like Shadow's, only they were black and green. On the left side of his face was a scar that reached from his eye to his mouth and his right eye was slightly swollen shut.

"Aero!" she growled.

The hedgehog smirked. "Robyn, my dear."

The grey fox looked disgusted. "I am NOT yours."

"Ooh, pardon me," the hedgehog grinned as he slid over to her, "I never got the memo."

Robyn moved away from him. Sky stared at the hedgehog. She had only heard stories about him from her friends, especially Robyn's little brother Tails. Aero was another experiment created by Professor Gerald Robotnik on the Space Colony ARK. Like Shadow, Aero had been endowed with the powers of the god Chaos and the ability to use the Chaos Emeralds. The biggest difference between the two was the disturbing fact that Aero was a vampire. Professor Gerald had somehow managed to perfect a vampire serum and had injected it into Aero. Aero was also creepily obsessed with Robyn. He had tried to turn her into his immortal lover, but Kelly had managed to stop him for the most part. Robyn was a vampire, but she still had her own mind. Needless to say, Aero still chased the fox in hopes of completing the process.

Aero glanced over and happened to notice the pink echidna's gaze. A smirk curled his lips. "Well, well, well… Sky the Echidna. Wife of that blasted blue hedgehog."

Sky's eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything. Aero walked over and placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Such a lovely creature. I can see why he chose you."

The echidna knocked his hand away. "Don't touch me."

"You know, your husband has interfered with my goal of having Robyn many times over. If he wasn't married, I would've said that there was something between the two of them," Aero said as he turned away.

Robyn spat, her fur fluffing up in the process. "Don't be ridiculous! Sonic has done what he would do for any friend!"

"So you are denying the history between you two?" Aero asked triumphantly.

Sky stared at the grey fox. Robyn looked uncomfortable, but she took a deep breath and glared at Aero. "What happened between Sonic and I was a long time ago. We moved on _a long time ago_. Sonic is happy now, and so am I. The past is the past, and I shall leave it at that."

Aero opened his mouth to say something, but he suddenly froze. His gaze traveled back to Sky. "You… You are with child. Sonic's child."

The echidna put a hand to her stomach protectively. The vampire chuckled softly. "I had a feeling… I can hear its developing heartbeat. Even now, it is pumping blood throughout its developing body."

He grinned, revealing his razor-sharp fangs. "Children, even unborn children, are the most delicious when it comes to a vampire's diet…"

Before Sky could react, Aero lunged for her. Kelly growled and flung herself in front of the pink echidna, punching the vampire in the face and sending him backwards. "I won't let you hurt them, Aero!"

Aero eyed her irritably as he rubbed his cheek. "Kelly. I should've known. Going to play Sonic's role, are we?"

"We all will," Braelyn said as she walked up next to Kelly. Her cloak blew with the wind and her dark green eyes flashed angrily. "We'll do whatever it takes to protect Sky and her baby!"

"Braelyn," Aero hissed as he put a hand to his swollen eye.

Braelyn smirked and drew out her silver compound bow. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke. "How's your eye? It must be _terrible_ having half of your vision."

Sky blinked. "What?"

"You didn't know?" Amy turned to Sky. "Braelyn put his eye out with an arrow."

The human girl pulled out a silver steel-tipped arrow and nocked it. "And I'd gladly do it again."

"You little… I'll show you!" Aero roared as he lunged at Braelyn.

Without thinking about it, she released the arrow. It flew at the vampire and he barely ducked in time to avoid losing his vision altogether. Kelly and Sky took the chance to blast him with their combined attack of Arctic Fire and Chaos Swift. Aero was sent sliding backwards and he growled as he stood up. Alustriel did a couple of cartwheels over to him and kicked him upwards, allowing Zoey to jump up and slam her feet into his chest. The hedgehog hit the ground hard, allowing Rouge to jump over and screech in his ear. Blaze surrounded Cheese with fire and Cream threw the chao at Aero, ultimately setting his chest hair on fire. Before he could react, Robyn surrounded Amy's hammer with Starfire and the pink hedgehog slammed it down on Aero's head.

"That's what you get, you creep!" she yelled as she jumped back by the others.

Aero groaned as he struggled to his feet. "Nrgh…"

Braelyn quickly ran over and kicked him in the back, rendering her temporarily disabled. She fit him into her bow and fired him upwards before turning to Sky. "NOW!"

The echidna nodded and jumped up to Aero. Blue energy covered her hand as she brought it behind her. "Chaos… SWIFT!"

The attack sliced across the hedgehog's chest, earning a scream of pain from him. He hurtled towards the ground and hit it so hard that it shook and nearly knocked the girls off balance. When the dust cleared, Aero was laying on the ground. Sky walked over and put her foot on his chest, applying most of the pressure in the heel of her shoe. The vampire wheezed as he glared up at the echidna.

She smirked as she drew her fist back. "Take THIS!"

She drove her fist into his sore eye. The vampire screamed and knocked her foot off of him. He clutched his eye as he struggled to his feet. Amy took the chance to run over and knock him up into the air with her hammer. Robyn jumped up and spin-kicked him, sending him flying over the tree line. The vampire yelled a few choice words as he vanished from view. Robyn landed gently on the ground and grinned triumphantly.

"Nice hit!" Kelly beamed.

Robyn grinned. "Thanks! But we all did it together. Thank goodness."

Braelyn suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! We totally forgot something!"

Everyone stared at her. Zoey suddenly snapped her fingers. "WE FORGOT THE PIE!"

The other girls sweatdropped before bursting into laughter. Braelyn and Zoey ran towards the house, leaving the others to follow as the sky continued to darken.

**Ehhh. I don't like this one. It could use a lot of work. Anyway, I still had fun writing the fight scene. See you guys later!**


	20. Don't Tell

**Hello readers! I'm back already with another short story! This one is actually a two-parter, and it's for my dear friend BlackSandHeart. It involves her character, Xsus, and my character, Kelly. Robyn and Sonic will also be in it, but it's more focused on Xsus and Kelly's friendship. I will warn you- the first part is cute, but the second part is depressing.**

**Anyway, I recently discovered the lovely OddSakura, who writes short stories based on a list she came up with by herself! I took a look at it and was hit by inspiration. So a bunch of the coming stories will involve the themes from her list.**

**Anyway, to the reviews!**

_**Strife:**_** Hehe. *watches Aero die* I'm glad you liked it! Hmm… Aero vs. Mephiles? Maybe I can incorporate that into one of the short story ideas you had from before. We'll see how it goes :D**

_**Chaotic: **_**Hahahaha! Probably! Then again, Sonic is the father. The kid might be wild, regardless. I'll have to mention it to Sky. I'll think about putting up some of our RP stuff!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't feel like doing a fancy one today. Xsus belongs to BlackSandHeart. Robyn and Kelly belong to me. Doctor Quack and Sonic belong to SEGA.**

Don't Tell- #78: Secret

"Tag! You're it!" a young golden cat with blue eyes cried as he tapped his friend on the shoulder.

The light blue echidna with eyes that matched her dreadlocks grinned. "I'll get you back, Xsus!"

"You have to catch me first, Kelly!" the cat taunted as he took off running.

Kelly laughed and ran off after him. The two ran all over the place, from the front yard to the back yard and through the large mansion occupied by their friends, the Prower family. Squeals of "You're it!" and "I'll get you!", as well as plenty of laughter, filled the air as the sun began to set for the day. From the kitchen window, a blue hedgehog and a grey fox watched the intense chase with smiles.

"I still remember the day they met," Sonic the Hedgehog chuckled.

Robyn Prower snapped her fingers. "Bam. They bonded instantly. It was like the moment and their friendship was destined to happen."

"I've been thinking… do you think… if Xsus and Cream were only friends… do you think Xsus would turn to Kelly as more than a best friend?" Sonic asked quietly.

Robyn turned to him with wide green eyes. "You can see them together too?"

Sonic nodded. "They're just as perfect together as Xsus and Cream are. It could work, if Xsus and Cream weren't together."

Robyn returned to watching the two kids play. A smile crossed her lips as Kelly and Xsus laughed. She hadn't seen either of them so happy before, with the exception of Xsus being around Cream. With Kelly, though… the echidna had had a rough past. She also didn't have a significant other in terms of Xsus and Cream's relationship. She always acted like she was fine with all of the couples, but the grey fox could sometimes detect a stronger feeling from the echidna.

"Maybe," she said slowly as she leaned her head on Sonic's shoulder.

**-XxXxX-**

After getting worn out from all of the running (Sonic would have laughed at that), Xsus and Kelly collapsed by a grassy hill in the back yard. They took one look at each other and started laughing again. Both of their frames shook; they were unable to control themselves. After a good few minutes, they calmed down and sighed in unison.

"That was really fun," Kelly said with a grin.

"We're kids, of course it was fun!" Xsus replied happily.

Kelly nodded and then pointed upwards. "Look, Xsus! Stars!"

The golden cat looked upwards at the darkened sky. Sure enough, tiny stars were dotted all across the heavens. "Wow… it's really pretty."

Kelly said nothing. Xsus looked at her and saw that she was smiling. _She has a really awesome smile… and her eyes seem bluer now than during the daytime. I still can't believe she's my friend… she's great._

Kelly turned to him. "Xsus?"

The cat said nothing as he stared at her. Color quickly filled her cheeks. _Why is he staring at me? Do I have something on my face?_

"Xsus? Is something wrong?" she managed to ask.

He still didn't say anything. He tilted his head to the side and leaned a bit closer. Kelly felt her cheeks darken as she stared into his eyes. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. _Is… is he… going to… no! That's ridiculous! He wouldn't!_

Xsus lifted a hand and touched her cheek with his index finger. Then he leaned in a lot closer and lowered his voice. "You're… it."

Before she could register her shock, he grinned and jumped to his feet. He took off again with a laugh, leaving his stunned echidna friend on the hill. Kelly blinked several times before letting a small smile cross her lips. _Typical Xsus. But still… I thought for a split second that he was going to kiss me… pretty stupid. He's my best friend, after all… and that's all we'll ever be…_

"I'll get you for that!" she laughed as she stood up and ran after the cat.

Although she would never admit it to anyone, Kelly had a secret about Xsus. Sonic and Robyn had unknowingly guessed at a hidden truth. The echidna loved Xsus more than a best friend and a brother. She wanted nothing more than his happiness, which is why she kept one of her two biggest secrets to herself. As for the other secret, well… only Robyn, Sonic, and Knuckles knew about that one.

**I absolutely died at the friendship cuteness in this one. In this story, Kelly and Xsus are their respective ages; 11 and 10. The next one, they'll be a few years older, around 15 and 14. Like I said, however, the next part is depressing. It also involves Kelly's other big secret. To be continued!**


	21. Unrequited

**Haha. Yes, I did have both parts written. I couldn't leave you guys on another cliffhanger! :D anyway, this is the second and final part to BlackSandHeart's gift. I will warn you for the last time that it's depressing.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own Robyn and Kelly. Xsus belongs to BlackSandHeart. Sonic, Doctor Quack, and other characters mentioned belong to SEGA.**

Unrequited: #60- Friend

As the rain hit the pavement, a teenager ran down the path. He was a golden cat with leaf-like ears and blue eyes that seemed panicked. His boots disturbed the puddles around him and almost caused them to merge together, but he didn't care. For once, the water did not bring him pleasure. He had somewhere to be and someone very dear to him to see. He had just received word, so he had to be quick.

He ran through the hospital doors and skidded to a stop before the reception desk, almost falling flat on his back in the process. The secretary looked very startled as he panted and spouted out a name. She gave him the room number and he was off again. He didn't want to wait in the elevator, but he had no choice. He tapped his foot impatiently and immediately bolted out when the doors opened. He arrived outside of the room to find some familiar faces: a blue hedgehog and a grey fox. The fox looked like she had been crying while the hedgehog looked worried as hell.

"Is she okay!?" the cat demanded.

The fox sniffed. "Oh, Xsus… it's not looking good…"

Xsus's heart froze. He looked at the hedgehog. "Sonic…?"

He shook his head. "Robyn's telling the truth…"

The door opened and a yellow duck with blue eyes wearing a doctor's coat stepped out. "Is this everyone…?"

"For right now," Sonic said quietly.

Xsus rounded on the doctor. "What's going on!?"

Doctor Quack stared at him. "She… she never told you, did she?"

"Told me what!?" Xsus demanded.

Doctor Quack sighed and rubbed his temple. "Your friend has been sick for a very long time… around five years or so. We didn't think it was anything serious, but… she's been slowly dying for the past couple of years. She won't make it much longer… I'm estimating she has at least until tomorrow night. There's nothing we can do anymore. Nothing has worked."

The news hit the cat like a truck full of bricks. _She… she's been sick all this time… she's __dying__… and she never told me? Why…?_

"I have to see her," he said as his eyes pricked.

The doctor nodded and moved out of the way of the door. The cat walked in and closed the door. He took a deep breath, wiped his eyes and walked past the bathroom. The room was plain and lifeless, with one bed, one window, one chair, and one couch. There were machines on both sides of the bed. Tubes with various liquids came out of some of the machines and were hooked up to the occupant of the bed. She was a light blue echidna with eyes to match her dreadlocks and a heart as big as the world. She was sat upright against the back of the bed and had a tray of food on her lap.

She looked up and saw him standing there. She smiled faintly. "Xsus…"

"Kelly," he said quietly as he stared at her.

She looked terrible. Her face was pale and she looked like she hadn't slept for a couple of days. She looked thin and older than she really was. Her eyes bothered him the most. They were dull and lifeless instead of their normal vibrant blue. She really was sick. The mere thought of her death made his eyes water again. She gestured to the chair and he pulled it over to the bed. He placed his hand on top of hers and looked at her expectantly.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Xsus…"

"Why didn't you tell me? That you were dying? That I would lose you?" the cat asked as a few tears slid down his cheeks.

She didn't say anything. Xsus's voice broke as he continued. "I was in the middle of making cookies with Cream when Robyn called, sobbing her eyes out. I left Cream standing there as I bolted out of the house. Then I got here and had to hear the story from Doctor Quack! Why didn't you tell me?! Why was I the last to know that you won't make it!?"

"Xsus…" Kelly was crying as well. Tears poured out of her eyes faster than his did. "I didn't think things would get this bad…! Even when they told me that I would eventually die, I didn't accept it. I firmly believed that I would be all right in the end. I didn't want to worry you…"

She suddenly coughed. Xsus's frustration gave way to concern. "Kelly…?"

"I'm okay, Xsus… just… I've been losing energy since last night, when I got this cough," the echidna said quietly.

The cat stared at her. Then he burst into tears and hugged her, ignoring the tubes and machines. Kelly stared at him with surprise before returning the embrace. Tears dripped from her eyes onto the top of Xsus's head, but he didn't care. The two friends sobbed their hearts out and hugged each other tightly, never wanting to let go. Alas, Kelly coughed again and Xsus drew away, looking at her with concern again. She looked more and more tired with every minute.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

Kelly shook her head. "I'm just tired…"

She reached for her tray and picked up a bracelet. It was silver, metal, and had her name engraved on the inside of it. She placed it in Xsus's hand and closed his fingers over it. "I want you to have it. Please wear it for me."

Xsus's eyes widened. "B-But… it's YOUR special bracelet! Your brother gave it to you! I… I can't…"

"Please… Xsus… for me? For our friendship?" Kelly pleaded.

She looked at him desperately. The look in her eyes made him want to break down again. However, he bit his lip and clutched the bracelet. Then he slid it onto his wrist and looked at it. It shined brightly, as if everything was all right. Then he looked at his friend again and saw her smile. Her smile was still as important to him as ever.

"Xsus… there's something I have to tell you…" she said softly as she lifted a hand and touched his cheek.

He felt his cheeks darken a tiny bit. "Yes…?"

She paused for a second, looking like she was going to change her mind. Then she sighed and dropped her hand from his cheek. She leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek for a split second before she pulled back. "I love you…"

His eyes widened as he stared at her. She looked at the tray on her lap and blushed a bit. "I know you're with Cream… that's why I never said anything. I was okay with dealing with unrequited feelings. I only want you to be happy, as my best friend and brother-like figure. But I want you to know that you mean more than everything to me."

She sighed and suddenly slumped against the back of the bed. Her eyes fluttered briefly before closing. Xsus stood up in alarm, but relaxed a little when he heard her breathing. Then he realized that his cheeks had darkened a lot more when she had kissed him. He put a hand to his cheek and felt his eyes water again. He clenched his fists and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. _Oh, Kelly…_

**-XxXxX-**

"We are gathered here today to mourn a tragic loss. Kelly the Echidna was barely fifteen years old when she passed. She was a loving soul and had the biggest heart in the Sonic gang. Her smile and laughter were infectious and will be sorely missed," an old dog said.

Members of the gang and many friends were gathered around the coffin. There were tears all over the place, even from the usually-reserved people like Shadow the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna. Out of everyone, Xsus and Robyn cried the hardest. Robyn had taken care of Kelly like a daughter and a sister. Xsus was Kelly's best friend, brother, and secret crush (well, secret to almost everyone). He was still wearing Kelly's bracelet as he cried to the heavens. She had passed quietly without suffering, but he still felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. Beside him, Cream the Rabbit was wearing a black dress and had a bouquet of white roses in her hand. Tears were sliding down her face as well; she and Kelly had always gotten along quite nicely. She silently handed the roses to him and watched as he walked up to the coffin.

Kelly was dressed in an angel's dress and looked peaceful. Her eyes were closed, like she was sleeping. Xsus touched her cheek and then placed the roses next to her. The rest of the funeral passed like a blur. He barely remembered paying attention to when they lowered the coffin into the ground. Cream was too busy sobbing on his chest as Robyn cried Kelly's name. Sonic was trying his best to comfort the fox, but he was extremely teary-eyed as well. While everything went on around him, Xsus looked up to the sky and swore than he saw Kelly's face smiling down at him, as if to say thank you. He rubbed her bracelet and managed a tear-soaked smile.

He remembered that throughout the passing years.

**Okay. I'm still bawling my eyes out, here. I'm a terrible creator.**

**Kelly: *hugs* :(**

**Well, I told you guys it would be depressing. But at the same time, it was kinda cute how Kelly was finally able to admit her long-time secret. But still. I need tissues. Anyway, BlackSandHeart, I hope you loved the story (despite the depressing-ness of this part). The next one will be about Sonic and Tails, so keep an eye out for it!**


	22. Angels

**Okay, I lied. *avoids the bricks* The story about Sonic and Tails will be next. But after reading BlackSandHeart's short story (set after "Unrequited"), I just HAD to write this. I think this'll be the final ending to the whole Xsus and Kelly story. Anyway, go read SandHeart's story; it's set 8 years after Kelly's death and might make a bit more sense if you read it before this one.**

_**Strife (x2):**_** Hahaha! Pfft, we all know that Cream holds Xsus's heart. But still, if it were to ever happen… *also holds up a "Kelly X Xsus" sign with a grin* I'm up for it! XD anyway… pah, I'm still wiping my eyes. Yeah, Kelly would go to Heaven. Poor Strife :(**

**Kelly: *pats Strife on the back* :)**

_**BlackSandHeart (x2):**_** Aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww! I'm SO glad you liked it! *watches you stutter* Oh my… you really did like it o.O and yeah, it might be the best depressing piece I've ever written. Kelly does have a disease, unfortunately, but it won't come to her death in a few years. This is story is kinda separate from the actual timeline. The doctors WILL find a cure and everything WILL be awesome again. Awww, Xsus! *starts crying again* I'm glad you like it, Xsus. *hugs him* YAY! *claps* I'm glad you can see it too! And yes. Cuteness always.**

**Kelly: *hugged several times* *hugs Blackie and Xsus* Don't worry…! I won't die for a very long time! That I WILL make sure of! *lifts fist into the air with determination***

_**Chaotic:**_** I'm glad you think so! Yeah, Kelly and Xsus. :D Didn't you come up with the idea in the first place? xD**

_**SilverSilence14:**_** Hehehe. Yes, he is a pervert vampire xD I'm glad you liked it!**

_**Cor Amicus:**_** Yeah, it was. I cried while writing it. Yeah, Kelly is sick, but it won't end with her death. You could consider this to be AU from the actual storyline that I have right now. I'm glad you thought it was fantastic! ^^**

**Disclaimer:**** I own Kelly, Danny, and Shawn. Xsus belongs to BlackSandHeart. Gerald Robotnik and other mentioned characters belong to SEGA.**

Angels: #98- Together

"You are a special case, Xsus," a voice said.

A golden cat with leaf-like ears and blue eyes nodded. It had been a long time coming, but he was ready. "Yeah…"

"The Council has decided to send you to a special place. The place other Dimensioners call 'Heaven'. You shall depart immediately," the voice said.

The cat nodded again. He suddenly felt very light as several voices joined the first voice in a soft chant. He felt like a million a bricks had been lifted from his shoulders. He looked down to see his golden fur glowing with a pale white light. The light enveloped him after several seconds, and then he saw no more.

**-XxXxX-**

"Kelly?"

A light blue echidna looked up from her place at the table. "Yes, Gerald?"

A bald man with a grey mustache stood beside the table. He was wearing his small blue pince-nez glasses and a fancy white lab coat, even though he had been dead for many years. He preferred it over the typical angel suit. "We have a newcomer joining us. Will you help him feel welcome?"

She nodded and smiled. "Sure thing."

She got up and went out of the cloud house. Many angels were out and about today; some of them called to her in greeting. She answered with a wave as she continued walking. Before long, she had reached Heaven's golden gates where a dark blue echidna was waiting for her. His hazels brightened as she came closer. "Kelly!"

"Danny!" Kelly exclaimed in surprise.

The two siblings hugged each other close. Kelly smiled as she pulled back. "It's been a while."

"Two Earth weeks. Sorry, I've been very busy," her brother replied as he stretched his angel wings.

"It's okay. Are you opening the gates today?" the light blue echidna asked.

"I am. I assume Professor Gerald wanted you to make the newcomer feel at home," Danny mused as he looked at the gates.

Kelly nodded. "It's weird, though. He's never asked me to do this before. I wonder if he knows something that I don't."

Danny shrugged and then spread his arms out. The golden gates trembled before slowly opening. Beyond the gates was an empty blue space. The two echidnas waited for a couple of minutes. Then, in the center of the space, a bright white light appeared like a portal. A collection of particles came out of the light and began to form together. Kelly gasped when it was all said and done. Before her was the one person she hadn't seen in a very, very long time. "X… Xsus…?"

The golden cat opened his eyes. He looked at the two echidnas and his eyes widened upon seeing the light blue echidna. "K… Ke… Kelly…?!"

Dead silence. Then two silver tears slid down Kelly's cheeks as she opened her arms. Xsus took the chance and practically flung himself at her. He sobbed when he felt her arms close around him. She was real. She was here. He could feel and hear her breathe as he rested his head on top of her head. After being away from her for many, many years, he was finally in her presence again. His joy threatened to consume his entire body, but he didn't care.

Kelly, on the other hand, was already long gone on the joy train. She sobbed on his shoulder and hugged him tightly. His golden fur was still soft under her hand. She still fit nicely in his arms and he was still as skinny as ever. Her best friend, even after she had died, was finally with her again. Then she felt a slight bump on her back and she pulled back to look at him. He smiled and held up his hand; a familiar silver bracelet glinted back at her from his wrist.

Tears were brought to her eyes again. "You still have it… after so many years…"

"I never took it. Not once," he whispered with a smile.

Kelly smiled back before remembering that Danny was still there. She turned to her brother, who was watching her with amusement and happiness. "Sorry, bro… Danny, this is my best friend, Xsus. Xsus… this is my brother, Danny."

Xsus's blue eyes widened. Kelly had only mentioned Danny a few times in her life. Talking about him had been a hard thing for her to do; he had been killed when she was four by their disgraced brother, Shawn. Danny had given Kelly the silver bracelet that was now on Xsus's wrist. She had treasured it dearly, and it had meant a lot when she had given it to Xsus before her death. That was why he had never taken it off- it meant a lot to him because of how much it meant to Kelly, and it had represented their friendship throughout the years without her. He looked closely and saw a strong resemblance between the two echidnas. Kelly looked a lot like her brother, a fact that she was quite proud of.

He bowed slightly. "Hello."

"So you're Xsus," the dark blue echidna said as he came forward and shook the cat's hand, "it's nice to finally meet you. My sister has talked about you a lot."

Xsus opened his mouth to say something, but Danny shook his head. "Don't worry. I know that she didn't say too much about me. My death hit her pretty hard… and then Shawn…"

He bit back a growl. Xsus nodded understandingly; he'd had many unpleasant encounters with the grey echidna. The last time, however, had been a victory; Shawn had fallen to his death in the treacherous cliffs of Mystic Ruins. He remembered looking at the sky that day and thinking _That was for you, Kelly._ "Yeah…"

He turned to Kelly. "Shawn has been dead for a few years now. He died fighting me and a few others. I hoped that it brought peace to your memory."

The echidna's blue eyes shined with appreciation. "I smiled upon you that day, Xsus. I wanted to thank you for ridding the world of his corruption."

Xsus scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Danny chuckled and then waved a hand at the huge golden gates, causing them to close. "I've got something to take care of, so I'll leave you two alone."

He kissed the top of his sister's head and nodded to Xsus before stretching his wings and flying away. The two watched until the dark blue echidna disappeared from view. Then Xsus stole a glance at his best friend. She looked lovely in a simple white summer-like dress with gold glitter and lace, white strappy sandals, and beautiful white angel wings. He smiled softly and tore his gaze away right before Kelly looked at him. He looked simply dashing in a white angel's suit. His wings were taking their time in appearing, but it was all right. It varied for each person.

Xsus scratched at his back. "My back feels funny."

Kelly laughs softly. "That's probably your wings. You'll feel funny until they appear. In the meantime, let me show you around."

She took his hand in hers, missing the small smile and blush on Xsus's face completely. With a grin and a laugh that he hadn't heard in a long time, she pulled him away from the gates.

**-XxXxX-**

"And this is my favorite place to be. We just call it 'The Garden', because there's many ways to describe it," Kelly explained as she and Xsus stopped.

Xsus stared at the garden. It was _beautiful_. Vibrant green grass, lively flowers of all colors, and many other things bloomed around him. He could see why Kelly loved being here; she had always had a soft spot for beautiful nature spots. He bent down and gently picked a white rose, smiling as he handed it to her. "A white rose by any name smells just as sweet."

Kelly blushed a little as she took the rose. It seemed even more beautiful as she looked at it. She touched the petals and smiled. "Thank you, Xsus…"

He smiled. She put it on the right side of her dreadlocks and smiled back at him. He stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace again, gently kissing the top of her head as he did so. "I've missed you boatloads, Kels… I can't even begin to express it."

Though he couldn't see it, she blushed. A couple of tears slid down her cheeks again. "I missed you too, Xsus… and I want to apologize again for not telling you about my condition. I didn't want to worry you… or cause you any extra pain… although I kind of failed in that regard."

"Hey, hey…" he pulled back and wiped her tears with his thumb. "You had your reasons. No matter how it would have happened, I don't regret the time that I spent with you. You were always my best female friend… through the good and the bad."

Kelly nodded and bit her lip, trying to keep from crying again. "And you were my best male friend… always and forever. I can't tell you how glad I am to see you again."

"Me, too… by the way… is there any place to get ice cream around here?" he asked.

She began to laugh. "Follow me!"

She grabbed his hand again and started running. Xsus grinned and ran beside her, feeling his wings beginning to form behind him. Kelly's eyes lit up as Xsus's wings stretched out, nearly colliding with her own. She jumped up as he jumped up, and the two friends flew back towards the arrangement of cloud houses.

**THE END**

**One, two, three… AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That might be the absolute cutest thing I have ever written.**

**Kelly: *throws confetti and streamers* It was a happy ending after all!**

**Yup! *grins* Hope you like the final ending, SandHeart. Now, I promise, the next story will be able Sonic and Tails. See ya later!**


	23. I'll Call You Tails

**Hi all! I finally decided to get my butt in gear and type up the story about Sonic and Tails. It's been written for a while, but… y'know, laziness. Anyway, the idea for this story came from the first reviewer of the short stories, jakeroo123. He suggested writing about Sonic and Tails in the old games and how Tails would always die but manage to randomly appear again. Now, to the reviews!**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Aww! I'm glad you loved it. I definitely agree with it being a perfect ending. I have to admit that I cried when Xsus and Kelly hugged. I was like "ERMAGERD!" *returns hug* Yup. I still have to figure out exactly how Kelly will be cured, but it WILL HAPPEN. *raises fist determinedly***

_**Chaotic Hedgehog:**_** Hehe, thank you! I dunno anymore xD And thank YOU, bro! *grins***

_**Cor Amicus:**_** I shall look those songs up. Hehehe, I probably would too. I know, right!? I practically died when I had them see each other again. I was like "SOFREAKINGCUTE!" I'm glad you liked it!**

**Disclaimer: Sonic and Tails belong to SEGA.**

I'll Call You "Tails": #4- Name

"Sonic, wait up!" Miles Prower exclaimed as he ran after the hedgehog.

The ten-year-old supersonic hedgehog glanced back at his new friend as he slowed to a stop. The little kit managed to catch up as Sonic waited. "About time!"

"Some of us weren't born with supersonic speed!" Miles retorted when he caught his breath.

Sonic shrugged. "True. Fine. I'll let you go in front of me."

"Yay!" Miles clapped excitedly before he ran off.

Sonic grinned a little and jogged so he wouldn't run the kit over. He didn't like going so slow, but if it made his new friend happy, so be it. Jogging also gave him the opportunity to look at his surroundings. Emerald Hill Zone was a luscious place, with green grass and wooden bridges that crossed waterfalls (which Sonic was VERY thankful for). If it wasn't for the roboticized animals everywhere, Sonic would have been content to run around the place. Alas, he had bigger things to care of.

"Sonic! WATCH OUT!"

He jolted back to reality after hearing Miles's cry. While the hedgehog had been preoccupied with his thoughts, he had unknowingly sped up a bit and was now aiming for Miles, who was standing by a cliff. Sonic's eyes widened as he freaked out and tried to stop. His sneakers kicked up dirt and dust as he slowed down. When he came to a stop, he tripped and fell forward, _accidentally pushing Miles over the edge!_

"SONIC!" the kit shrieked as he toppled over the edge.

"MILES!" the hedgehog shouted as he reached his hand out.

He was too late. Miles fell further and further down, shrieking and crying until he disappeared from view. Horror clutched Sonic's heart and threatened to make it explode as he watched the scene unfold. _AHH! NO! MILES! He… he was only five! He had his whole life ahead of him! And it's all my fault; if only I had been paying attention! I wouldn't have knocked him over if I hadn't been going so fast!_

Sonic started hyperventilating. "MILES!"

"Um… you don't have to shout, Sonic."

The blue hedgehog whirled around. His eyes widened. Flying in front of him was Miles! "What the..?!"

Miles laughed. "You look so scared!"

"H-How are you flying!?" Sonic demanded.

The kit landed on the ground and gestured to his tails as they stopped spinning. "I used my tails!"

Sonic's eyes were nearly bugging out of his skull. "And… and how did you get up there?! You fell down the waterfall!"

"… Even I can't answer that one," Miles admitted as he sweatdropped.

The poor hedgehog still looked very scared out of his mind. Miles came over and hugged him. "It's okay, Sonic. I'm okay."

Sonic slowly returned the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Tails… I should've been paying attention."

The kit blinked as he pulled away. "Tails?"

"Yeah… that's your new nickname. Tails. Cool, right?" the hedgehog grinned.

His friend's eyes gleamed. "Yeah! I like it! Miles 'Tails' Prower!"

"Then it's settled… Tails," Sonic grinned as he gave his friend a thumbs-up.

**THE END**

**Short, I know. It's probably my shortest one ever! But I had fun writing it :D the next one is… well, another death-based one. *cringe* More detail to come!**


	24. Bond Physically Broken

***waves* Hello again, readers! So some of you are (obviously) aware of BlackSandHeart's story, "This is War", and the messed-up timeline that Team Future came from (Hydro, Kelly, Robyn, Sorro, etc.). Well, you might remember that Tails's death was ten years in the future (mentioned in chapter… 19 I think) and how Robyn reacted in regards to remembering it. I decided to write about the actual day that it happened and what happened to Robyn and the others that were left to witness it. Yes, I've been in a death-obsessed mood lately… I dunno why. I'll try to make some happy stories soon. Oh, and some of the stuff mentioned in here might not line up exactly with what happened in SandHeart's7 story (such as the time of Shade/Tikal's deaths). Thought I'd warn ya now :D**

**DISCLAIMER: Robyn, Emily, Kelly, and Aero belong to me. Tails's daughter, Hydro and Clive belong to BlackSandHeart. Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Shade, Tikal, and Cosmo belong to SEGA.**

Bond Physically Broken- #19: Disaster

"Robyn. Wake up."

The sleeping grey fox didn't budge. A cobalt hedgehog sighed as he knelt down and gently shook her. He was glad that his friend was getting some sleep, but she needed to wake up and take over guard duty. "Robyn. Come on."

She groaned a little. "Five more minutes, Mom…"

Sonic smiled sadly. "We may not have five minutes. Come on."

She stirred a bit, but then she rolled over and hit Sonic with her tail. The hedgehog blinked as he stared down at her. A giggle was heard from behind him and he turned his head. "You saw that, right?"

Kelly the Echidna nodded. "She did that to me the other day."

Sonic shook his head. "She needs to get up. Shadow is done with his shift."

He turned away from the light-blue echidna and looked down at the still-sleeping fox. He bent down and gently pressed his lips to the spot below her right ear. Then he lifted his head so his lips were by her ear. "Robyn. Guard duty. You gotta wake up."

She stirred again and then opened her eyes. Her jade eyes surveyed her surroundings, like she didn't remember where she was. Then she rolled onto her back as Sonic stood up. "Mmph… morning, Sonic…"

Kelly came closer and knelt down by her friend. Sonic then noticed that she was holding a cup of coffee. The echidna handed it to the fox, who sat up and smiled softly. "Morning, Kelly…"

She took a long drink. Kelly grinned. "You hit Sonic with your tail."

Robyn nearly choked on the coffee as she chuckled. "Sorry, Sonic."

"S'okay," the hedgehog smiled. "Just glad to see you're awake and in control of yourself."

This caused Robyn to wince. Kelly shot a glare at the blue hedgehog, who mouthed an apology as he left. The echidna turned to her friend. "How do you feel?"

"Better than yesterday, when Aero was able to help Emily take control of me," Robyn shivered.

Kelly leaned over to hug her friend. "I hate this war as much as anyone, Robyn…"

"Because of Aero, I have a crazy vampiress trying to control me," Robyn interrupted. "How do you think I feel?"

Kelly fell silent. She clenched her fists as she thought about the black and green hedgehog that had caused this war and Robyn's transformation into a vampire. _Aero…_

Robyn sighed. "I'm sorry, Kelly. I'm being selfish. I know you're suffering because Aero killed Knuckles, Shade, and Tikal."

The blue echidna felt her eyes prick. Her mind returned to the day when her cousin Knuckles had died, as well as his wide Shade and Knuckles's ancestor, Tikal. They had gone out on guard duty and Aero had managed to lure them away and kill them. Kelly winced as she remembered spotting Aero feeding on Shade. The former Nocturnus warrior had been pregnant with Knuckles's child, and Aero had killed the child before it even had a chance to be born. Knuckles and Tikal had fought for revenge, but Aero had been too much for them.

Kelly didn't realize how fast the tears were sliding down her cheeks until Robyn pulled her into a soothing embrace. The echidna lost it and cried, soaking the front of Robyn's black tank top. The grey fox didn't seem to care about that as she held the echidna and stroked her dreadlocks. "Kelly, Kelly…"

"It was s-supposed to be a s-simple shift," the blue echidna sniffed. "A-And Shade's baby… had n-no chance…"

"We'll get him, Kelly. For Knuckles, and for everyone else that he's killed or had a part in their death," Robyn murmured.

Kelly pulled away and wiped her eyes. "I hope so… but we're still waiting for Hydro and Clive to change the past. It's been three years, and we're still here.. I'm afraid that they… failed."

"If I've learned anything from Hydro, he won't give up until he succeeds in his mission," the grey fox said softly.

"Robyn has a point," a voice behind them said.

The girls turned to see a familiar ebony hedgehog with red streaks in his quills. He was wearing a black jean jacket and black jeans, and his jet shoes were filthy. His red eyes focused on the fox and the echidna. "Hydro is too determined to end this to give up."

"Hi, Shadow," Robyn said as she stood up.

Shadow opened his arms and allowed the grey fox to hug him. "I was coming to see how you were and what was taking you so long."

"I'm okay. Just… reminiscing, I guess," she said.

Kelly stood up and brushed some dirt off of her camouflage pants. "If you could call it that."

Shadow shrugged. Robyn stepped back and studied the hedgehog. He used to be quite hateful towards Kelly. Nobody ever really understood the animosity towards the female echidna. The war seemed to have changed that, however; nowadays Shadow was polite to Kelly and sometimes acted like a protective older brother. Robyn smiled a little, wishing it could be that way without the war.

Shadow looked at her. "You better hurry up. The guard post is empty."

Robyn nodded as she started out. "See you two later."

**-XxXxX-**

When Robyn got to the guard post, she blinked. Sitting there was her little brother, Miles "Tails" Prower. He was wearing black pants, black sneakers, and a mud-splattered shirt. His gloves were torn in a couple places and he had a dark green bandana wrapped around his head. His two tails waved slightly behind him as his blue eyes stared into the beyond.

"Tails?" Robyn said quietly as she came up behind him.

He didn't look at her. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" the grey fox asked.

Tails didn't answer for a moment. Robyn sat down next to him as his blue eyes finally turned to look at her. Robyn couldn't help but wince- his eyes were filled with great pain. "Tails…"

Suddenly he threw himself onto her lap and started crying. "Robyn…!"

The grey fox's arms were immediately closed around him. "Shh, shh… it's okay… I'm here…"

"It's not f-fair!" Tails cried. "I lost her once… now I've lost her again!"

Robyn's jade eyes focused on the ground as she held her brother. He was talking about none other than Cosmo the Seedrian, one of the kindest souls in the galaxy and his wife. She had died a very long time ago during the last battle with a group of conquerors called the Metarex. She was then brought back to life during the Day of the Dead and ended up being able to stay thanks to the Chaos Emeralds. The love between the seedrian and the two-tailed fox had grown so much that Tails asked her to marry him almost 2 years after the war had started. They'd had a daughter, whom they loved more anything and whom Robyn had fussed over like an overprotective aunt (which she was). Unfortunately, Cosmo and the girl had been killed by Aero a while back and Tails had lost it. He hadn't been the same since.

Robyn kissed the top of Tails's head. "Shh, shh…"

"It's n-not fair," Tails mumbled.

"This entire ordeal isn't fair. Nobody deserved to die. The world didn't deserve to be plunged into chaos. Aero didn't deserve the victories…" Robyn trailed off and closed her eyes.

"But that's according to you, my dear rose," a dark voice chuckled.

Robyn's eyes flew open as her fur stood on end. Standing several feet away from her was the reason why everything was a disaster. "Aero…!"

The black and green hedgehog smirked. "The one and only."

Tails growled as he and Robyn stood up. "You…"

"Ah, if it isn't Tails. How is your wife doing? And your daughter? Oh, that's right… they're dead, aren't they?" Aero said mockingly.

Tails screamed with rage and lunged for the vampire hedgehog, but Robyn pulled him back. She stepped in front of him and spread her arms out as if to shield the kitsune. "Leave him alone, Aero. You've done enough to him."

"Oh, have I?" Aero asked with an edge to his voice.

He took a step towards the two siblings. "Funny. You see, I haven't done complete damage to Tails. He still has one thing left that's keeping him sane."

A cold chill ran down Robyn's spine as Aero eyed her. "Me…"

"Yes… you. His precious, favorite, older sister," Aero grinned.

Tails ducked under Robyn's arm and stood in front of her. "Don't you DARE touch her!"

"And who's gonna stop me? You? Please. You can't fight worth a damn. All you do is hide away and tinker with your little machines, hoping that you'll be able to change the past," Aero sneered.

Tails growled. "Shows how much YOU know!"

Before Aero could respond, the kitsune pulled out his old energy blaster **(A/N: Sonic Battle again!)**, ran over to Aero, and blasted it right in his face. The vampire was sent up into the air, allowing Tails to jump up and hit him with another discharge of energy. Robyn's jade eyes were wide during the outburst. She knew Tails could fight, but usually chose to protect Cosmo and their daughter. Since they were gone, however… and their killer was here… it looked like Tails wasn't going to let his skills go to waste. A grin slowly curled her lips as she lit her hands with a familiar purple lightning-fire and joined her brother.

Aero spluttered as Robyn suddenly punched him in the jaw. "R-Robyn…!"

"You didn't think I'd let Tails face you by himself, did you?" Robyn asked as she punched him again.

Tails rolled his eyes as he did a roundhouse-kick to Aero's stomach. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"Old habits die hard," Robyn shrugged as she punched Aero's nose.

Blood spurted from his nose and the grey fox suddenly staggered backwards, eyes widening as the scent of the blood called out to her. A wave of nausea washed over her and she put a hand to her mouth. "Urgh…"

Aero grinned wickedly as he wiped the blood away. "Not so easy, is it my dear? And you're still weak from yesterday! Ahh, if only you had been around the bloodbaths of your friends! I'm sure Emily would have been very pleased…"

The grey fox grimaced as she felt the vampiress's presence stir inside her. "N… No… I…"

"Fight it, big sis!" Tails cried as he aimed a punch at Aero's face.

Aero glared at the kitsune and knocked him away with an orb of dark energy. Tails cried out in pain as he crashed into a tree that broke on impact. Robyn gasped and reached a hand out towards her brother, but then she groaned and fell to her knees. Emily was beginning to wake up again. "No…! I won't let you…!"

Aero knelt down in front of her and slid a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. His black eyes glittered triumphantly. "Give in, Robyn. It'll make things much easier… for me, anyway…"

Robyn jerked away from him. "Nrgh…"

The vampire chuckled as he leaned in and kissed her neck. His fangs poked out and gently scraped against her flesh, drawing tiny droplets of blood. "You know it will happen eventually. There's only a handful of you left. I'll pick the rest of them off one by one, and then you'll be all alone. You'll have no choice but to give in. You cannot win, my dear rose…"

He looked up and locked eyes with her, pushing his hypnotic powers out to her as he surrounded her with shadow energy. "Give in… become mine…"

Robyn's eyes began to glaze over a little. Tails saw this as he struggled to his feet. "ROBYN, NO!"

Aero growled as his concentration was broken by Tails's cry and Robyn began to struggle against her shadowy binds. He turned to Tails, furious. "You little…!"

Before Robyn could process it, Aero ran over to the kitsune, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him onto the ground. Tails emitted another cry of pain and Robyn shrieked. "NO! TAILS!"

She struggled even more to break free. Aero barely glanced at her. He seemed to have finally lost his patience. He bared his fangs and dropped his voice to a hiss. "Say goodbye to your precious baby brother, Robyn…!"

With that, he arched his head back and thrust his fangs into Tails's squirming form. Tails's eyes widened and his mouth fell open slowly as he looked at Robyn. "Big… sis…"

Time seemed to have frozen for the grey fox. For a few seconds, she stared at Tails as Aero bit into his body again and again, causing the kitsune to jerk violently. His blood spilled everywhere as Aero feasted. Then she snapped back to reason as Aero extended his claws. The vampire pulled back and licked his lips. "So good…"

He aimed his claws at the kitsune's chest. "Time for dessert."

"**NOOOOOOOOOOO! ! ! ! !"** Robyn shrieked as Aero slashed Tails across the chest.

Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, she broke free of the shadow energy. She zoomed over and knocked Aero into a tree so hard that he was sent flying. Then she threw herself at the ground next to Tails, jade eyes streaming with tears. She knelt down on her knees and cradled his head. "TAILS!"

The shrieking caused Sonic and Kelly to come running. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene before them. "Robyn!? TAILS?!"

They immediately surrounded the two siblings. Sonic's mouth was wide open as Tails continued to bleed. "Tails!"

The kitsune tried to smile. "S-Sonic…"

He shook violently. "It's… too late… Aero put… too much venom in… and I've lost… too much blood… I can't survive…"

Robyn's tears fell onto his body. "Tails…! Don't say that! You're… you're my brother! You're not… you c-can't… leave me…!"

"It's okay… I'll be with… the others now," Tails gasped.

He turned to Kelly, still shaking. The echidna was crying. "Kelly… take care of her… for me…"

Kelly's eyes widened. "I can't…! I can't… take your place, Tails…! Tails!"

"You must… please?" Tails begged.

Silenced by tears, the echidna nodded. Tails turned his gaze to Sonic, who was shaking his head in disbelief and crying. "Sonic… do something… for me…"

The hedgehog looked at his best friend through tear-stricken eyes. The kitsune tried to smile again. "You and Shadow… protect everyone… and end this… change the past… so we can all be together…"

"We will, lil' buddy. We will," Sonic choked out.

Tails finally looked at Robyn. Her cries wracked her body as she stared down at him. "No…"

"I'll always be… with you… _Robyn_," Tails wheezed.

His voice was getting faint. Robyn bent down and kissed his forehead. Tails smiled at her, then drew in his last breath for six final words: "Goodbye, big sis… I love you…"

His last breath left his body after those words, and he was still. For several long seconds, it was completely silent. Then Kelly wailed and threw herself down by Tails's bloodied tails. "No! TAILS!"

"TAILS! !" Sonic yelled as he cried.

Robyn moved her head so her forehead was touching her brother's forehead. She shook violently as a waterfall of tears dripped onto his body. She stayed like that for a moment while Sonic and Kelly hugged each other and cried. They pulled away just in time to see Robyn lift her head up. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were stricken with pain. She lifted her head to the sky and opened her mouth.

"_**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOO! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !"**_

The cry ripped through the air. It was a cry of true grief. The bond between the two siblings had been stronger than the power of love. Now that Tails was gone, the female fox felt like she had been ripped in half. Tails was her brother, her only family left, her world, her _everything_… he couldn't… he couldn't be…

She screamed again and started pounding on the ground. The tears came even faster now. She was barely aware of Kelly lifting her up and hugging her close, as well as Sonic wrapping his arms around both of them. She screamed Tails's name over and over again, as if it would bring him back and bring his sweet smile back to his face. The air was practically charged with the grief emanating from the female fox. For a few moments, it stayed like that.

Finally, Robyn's body started to calm down. She lifted herself up from the embrace of her friends and wiped her eyes. Kelly looked at her sadly. "Robyn…"

The sound of a breaking twig caught their attention. They looked up to see Aero standing there. His black eyes narrowed at them. "If it isn't Blue Boy and the Echidna Brat. Have you come to join your friend in death?"

Sonic and Kelly opened their mouths to retort, but Robyn suddenly stood up. Her hands balled into fists as she absolutely _glared_ at Aero. "You… killed my brother…"

The air around them seemed to drop twenty degrees in response to the bitterness and hatred of the fox's tone. Kelly looked around in alarm. "What…?"

Sonic stood up and pulled Kelly with him. He took several steps back as the air around Robyn began to crackle. The grey fox started shaking, but not with tears. "My little brother… who I cared about more than _anything_ in this world… my world, my everything…"

The crackling got louder. Even Aero looked slightly alarmed. "R-Robyn…"

"**SHUT UP!**" Robyn suddenly screamed.

Her eyes seemed to turn blood-red. "**BECAUSE OF YOU, HE'S GONE! DEAD! YOU HAVE EMOTIONALLY TORN ME IN HALF AND TORN US IN TWO! OUR BOND WAS STRONGER THAN ANYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY CONJURE UP!"**

Suddenly, she was surrounded by Starfire. The purple lightning-fire bordered her from head to toe. "**MARK MY WORDS, AERO! THIS ENDS **_**NOW!**_"

She finally snapped as she lunged at him with such a speed that would have put Sonic to shame. Aero yelped as Robyn's fist connected with his face. He went flying, but Robyn was flying with him and delivering a boatload of attacks. The vampire had no chance to react as his desired was simply blazing with power.

Kelly was wide-eyed. "Wh-What the-?!"

"I think Robyn's finally lost it… she's reminding me of my Dark Super form from way back when," Sonic said as he stared at his friend.

"So… in a way… Dark Robyn?" Kelly asked.

Sonic nodded. "You could say that."

Meanwhile, Robyn had finally beat Aero into the ground. She was still punching and screaming with rage. The vampire still hadn't managed to land a single blow. Finally, with a loud _crack_, Robyn punched Aero in the skull. The vampire groaned as he used Chaos Control to teleport a couple of steps away. "This… this… isn't over, Robyn… CHAOS CONTROL!"

He disappeared right as Robyn blasted a giant ball of Starfire at him. The last thing they heard out of him was a noticeable "OOF!", meaning that some of the Starfire had managed to hit him. The grey fox was still blazing with power and rage. "**AERO! ! ! !**"

The ground trembled. Sonic immediately ran over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Robyn! Snap out of it! You'll destroy the place if you don't!"

She snarled at him. He bit back a cry as the Starfire bit at his hands. It started to crawl up his arms, but he held on. "Robyn! ROBYN! I know you're in there!"

She was, indeed. Robyn was trying to fight back the power, but it was proving to be too much for her. She looked at the sky and shrieked. Sonic yelled as the Starfire covered him. Kelly screamed in panic. "SONIC! ROBYN!"

Suddenly, the Starfire exploded around them, encasing the area in a white light. Sonic and Robyn's cries merged into one, ripping through the air. Kelly fell to the ground and shielded her eyes. "NO!"

Then it was silent.

"G…Guys…?" Kelly mumbled as she hesitantly looked up.

Robyn and Sonic didn't seem to hear her. They were looking at each other. Robyn was still alight with Starfire, but it wasn't blazing out of control. The interesting thing was that Sonic's hands were sparking with the purple lightning-fire. His normally cobalt quills were a mix of his super form yellow and purple from the Starfire. His eyes were almost the same color as his super form's eyes. His hands were still on her shoulders, and their eyes were locked intensely.

"Robyn…" Sonic whispered.

"Sonic…" Robyn whispered back.

Then Robyn heard a voice: "_Robyn…"_

"Tails…" she mumbled.

"_Robyn... let go… it's okay… it's okay… I love you…"_ Tails whispered.

With a sob, the grey fox fell forward on Sonic's chest and started crying again. The Starfire faded away from her body, as well as Sonic's hands. Sonic's quills and eyes returned to normal as he hugged her close. "Robyn…"

"Tails…" she mumbled into his chest with tears sliding down her cheeks.

She pulled back and looked up at the sky. "TAILS!"

**THE END**

**Sheesh… that could be a chapter in itself, if I changed some stuff. But whatever. That's what I think happened when Tails died in the messed-up timeline. I hope you guys like it! Hopefully the next one will be a bit happier.**


	25. New Perspective

**Hi guys! Long time no see! To the reviews!**

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** *pats your shoulder*  
>Zoey: You tell him, Chaos! *glares at Aero as the arrows fly*<br>Aero: *hit by the arrows*  
>*hugs you* It's okay, bro… hi, Storm! And everybody else! *chuckles softly* Hey, every story needs a bit of humor. I figured that Sonic should get tail-slapped!<br>Sonic: Love you too, Nomad. -_-  
>*giggles* Oh, Emily didn't attack anyone, Storm. Aero was able to bring her forth and render Robyn incapable of fighting, but Sonic and the others were able to stop her before there were any casualties. *nod nod*<br>Kelly: *hugs Kuro* :)  
>Robyn: Of course he'd reminisce about Cosmo! It was almost the driving force of the story, aside from my bond with my lil' bro…<br>*pokes Midna* Y'know who else is angry? *gestures to Chaos***

_**Raeweis:**_** It was sad, wasn't it?! Thanks!**

_**Jssr13:**_** I'm glad you liked reading it, even with the OCs in it! Ooh, I didn't know that about kitsunes. That would make for an interesting story… thanks for the idea!**

_**Cor Amicus:**_** Hahaha! Here. *gives you Aero, who is tied up and gagged* Have at it! *dodges the random light saber swinging* Yes, he tends to screw everything up, doesn't he? *glares at him*  
>Aero: Hey! You made me like this! If anything, it's YOUR fault!<br>*slaps him with a frying pan* Shut up. And Amicus… that SENTENCE made me burst into tears. "He's got his wings, but she's left alone". I could visualize Robyn in a dark place with a spotlight on her, and she's crying, and I could see a faint outline of Tails with his wings high above her… great, I'm tearing up again…**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** *smacks head against hand* I forgot FD was there! -_- *glares at FD* Caudex. That's basically what I said when I wrote that Tails was dead… "NOOOOOOOO!"  
>Aero: *looks unamused at hearing that Strife and FD could kill him again, then grins mischievously* Yes… I do have a heart, don't I?<br>Robyn: *smacks him over the head with the frying pan* NO!  
>Aero: *rubs his head and then rolls his eyes at you* Got any more witty insults? *sarcasm*<strong>

**Disclaimer:**** Kelly the Echidna and Robyn Prower belong to me. Strife the Dark and Fengari belong to Strife the Dark 152. Mentions of the Dimension Jumpers and the character Flame belong to BlackSandHeart. Mentions of Team Heroes belong to SEGA.**

**Note: This story is for Strife, who suggested a story between Kelly and Strife, because apparently the echidna would be a good little sister for the hedgehog xD**

New Perspective

For Team Heroes and the Dimension Jumpers, today was a normal day. The sun was shining, Flickies were chirping, and there was a feeling of peace. Both groups were outside the Prower mansion, enjoying the sun and all. A blue echidna was in the center, playing "Duck Duck Goose" with her friends that were close to her age.

"Duck… duck… duck… duck… GOOSE! Can't catch me, Cream!" the echidna exclaimed excitedly as she starting running around the circle.

A cream-colored rabbit laughed as she got up and chased her friend. "Wanna bet, Kelly!?"

A golden-furred cat laughed as he watched them. "C'mon, Cream! You can get her!"

"Thanks for the support, Xsus!" Kelly pouted.

Cream grinned as she finally caught up to the echidna and tapped her shoulder. "GOTCHA!"

Kelly groaned and sat down in Cream's former place, which was next to Xsus and Charmy Bee. As the rabbit started the familiar chant, Kelly's blue eyes wandered to the trees. She briefly wondered if Aero or Eggman were going to show up and start trouble. Then, in the trees, she spotted a pair of green reptilian eyes, causing her to jump before Cream even got back around to her.

"Are you okay, Kelly?" Xsus asked with a frown as his best friend stared at the trees.

"Uh… fine… I'll be right back," the echidna said as she stood up and ran into the forest.

"KELLY!" Xsus reached a hand out to her, but she had already disappeared into the lush green forest.

Robyn Prower frowned. "Xsus, where did she go?"

"I dunno! She seemed a bit startled by something, and then she ran off," the cat said as he lowered his hand.

**-XxXxX-**

In the trees, a pale black hedgehog was sitting in the trees. He had pale blue rings around his legs, a scar over his heart, a scar over his right eye, and green reptilian eyes. His quills were shaped like Shadow's, but the stripes were pale blue instead of red. His shoes were also like Shadow's, but they were grey. He had black ordinate-looking rings and black world rings on his wrists and ankles, and he was wearing a black cloak with the hood down. He watched the two groups converse and laugh. A part of him wanted to go down and see what was so funny, but his mind kept wandering elsewhere. Somewhere that he didn't want it to go…

_Fengari, a sky-blue wolf, was down. He was clutching his left eye, blood seeping through his fingers. Flame, a dark cat with hazel eyes, was clutching her right eye; she was on her knees. Strife looked down and saw a sword into his chest. His gaze followed the sword to a hand, then a face, then… a Mobian. He looked around and saw many others surrounding him and his friends. The Mobians were all wearing white._

_"YOU WILL DIE, DARKNESS INCARNATE, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS," they all said at once._

_"__**You have made quite the mistake, now you are all going to die!**"__ Strife shouted._

_He took the sword out, feeling his anger and rage all boiling up… then it was frozen over with an icy calm rage. He summoned his sword and stabbed the man in front of him, causing him to hunch over on the blade._

_"**This is the punishment you get for releasing me,**"__ Strife said coldly._

_The man's eyes widened as he looked at the hedgehog. Strife bent down and whispered something in his ear, causing the man to scream in fear. __The hedgehog laughed as he took his blade out and cut the scream off. He ran towards the others, vaguely aware of the purple fire around his shoes. They screamed in fear, which only made him laugh more. He burst through all of them, slashing and stabbing, cutting and killing. The few who were brave enough to face him crumbled as they swung their swords._

_After a while, he had killed them all. He strolled away from the bodies… then was hit by realization. He looked at his sword, which was normally blue. It was red, red with blood. The blood of the dead Mobians behind him. The blood of Flame and Fengari were in there too; he could feel it. He felt something rise in his chest… laughter?_

What have I done?! _he thought._

_Then he heard a voice… _"_You killed them all, and you enjoyed it."_

Strife emitted a shriek of frustration and jumped down from the trees with his head in his hands. Why couldn't he stop thinking about that day?! It was the last thing he wanted on his mind! Many lives lost, and the feeling of chaos that controlled him… he had tried so hard to forget, but it was always there, mocking him.

"Um… Strife?"

The hedgehog turned around. Standing in front of him was the young echidna, Kelly. She looked at him curiously. "Why are you here all alone?"

"Uh…" Strife fumbled over his words. "I just… uh… I don't know, actually…"

He stared at Kelly and mentally flinched. She was blue, almost like Fengari. Her eyes matched the color of her dreadlocks, and there was a sense of innocence in her eyes that shined like a candle in a dark place. She was so young… it tore at his heart-strings. His eyes blurred and Fengari was in her place, tainted with blood and his hand on his eye. The voice came back to him, echoing in his head. _"You killed them all, and you enjoyed it."_

"NO! !" Strife screamed as he turned away from Kelly with a sense of angst.

Kelly jumped, quite startled. Her eyes widened as Strife knelt on the ground and put his hands on the sides of his head. He had this… this _look,_ this _expression,_ a mix of anger and terror and so many other things that it made Kelly's head spin. Something had caused him pain when he looked at her, causing her to look down. She could only hear Strife's heavy breathing as he tried to calm himself.

"I didn't mean to do it… I didn't…" he mumbled.

Curiously, Kelly looked at him again. "Strife…?"

He didn't seem to hear her. She took a few steps closer and knelt down, gently putting her hand on top of his right hand. "Strife…?"

Slowly, he turned to look at her. The image of Fengari vanished, leaving the concerned blue echidna in its place again. "K-Kelly…"

"What didn't you mean to do?" the echidna asked as she looked at him.

He flinched. He didn't really like sharing his past, especially regarding THAT incident. Kelly seemed to sense this, and to his surprise, she smiled. "It's okay if you don't wanna share it. I probably can't help in any major way… but you should know that you're not the only one who has gone through a world of hurt."

He looked at her, even more surprised. This young echidna, in a world of hurt? A sense of protectiveness seemed to wash through him. "Do you mean…"

She nodded, biting her lip and looking down again. "My brother Danny was killed by my other brother, Shawn, who in turn, physically, emotionally, and sexually abused me for a few years, until I managed to escape. All because Shawn didn't receive the Arctic Fire. It chose me instead…"

Anger replaced the protectiveness in the hedgehog. "Son of a…"

She looked at him again. "I was captured by Eggman… and Shawn was working for him. If it wasn't for Robyn, who knows where I would be right now?"

Strife's anger simmered down a bit. He had noted that the grey fox was a kind soul, so he wasn't surprised that she was the one to rescue Kelly. "Well…"

He proceeded to tell her about that day as they sat down on the ground and faced each other. Seeing his friends hurt, and the chaos that controlled him to go and kill all of those people. Seeing the blood everywhere and the realization of what he had done had almost been too much. She listened quietly, her eyes only widening slightly when he revealed the killings. She didn't turn and run, however. Strife felt a sense of relief when he finished.

She reached for his hand. "That's terrible… I'm sorry that happened. All I can say is that the past is the past, and you're not that person, Strife. I just know it. You'll do what it takes to protect the people you care about. It wasn't your fault, directly."

He nodded. "I know… and… I'm glad I told someone. It feels… nice. Like a burden has been lifted."

A smile crossed the echidna's face. "We're all here for you, Strife."

She surprised him by reaching over and hugging him. "Especially me."

He looked at her with a surprised expression before slowing returning the hug. In a matter of minutes, this echidna had changed his perspective somewhat. He wouldn't be able to forget that day so easily, but he could look back now and not be afraid. He wasn't that monster, and he never had been. He could take Kelly's words to heart and live to protect everyone.

Especially her. His newfound "younger sister".

**And… end! Stick around guys, the next chapter of "Ruby Eyes" should be out soon!**


	26. A Fight For A Fox- Part 1

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** Aww shucks! I'm honored to hear that you loved it :) Ice-wielding duo? I suppose that would work, considering how half of the Arctic Fire is ice-based…  
>Kelly: *grins and returns Strife's hug happily*<br>I have to say, thank YOU, Strife. You've been just as important to me as the rest of the Ohana. Without you guys, I wouldn't have as much inspiration as I do now! So thank YOU! :)**

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** Yes. Hopefully the next chapter of "ADR" will be out soon… if not, you should expect either another chapter of "Ruby Eyes" or the next chapter to Braelyn's origins.  
>Kelly: *gives you a Look when you mention Xsus needing to be a part of that team*<br>That was probably one of the darker moments of "The Darkness Incarnate". It was really good though, in detail and how Strife felt about killing all of those people. You know what I mean?**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Not sure if you'll see this, considering how you seem to have left Fanfiction :( but thank you, Blackie! You're the best TNP a girl could ask for.  
>Kelly: *jumps up and down in agreement*<strong>

**Soooooooooooo… yeah, not much to say here. I'm slowly getting over a case of pneumonia and an ear infection, while being stressed at work and starting my 2****nd**** year of college. This one-shot is dedicated to my Ohana, but especially to Chaotic hedgehog. He came up with the main pairing, and it's kinda taken over my writings. These two are just… SO CUTE TOGETHER. Expect a few one-shots about them! **

**Disclaimer:**** I own Zoey, Aero, Robyn, and the mentionings of Kelly and Alustriel. Chaos belongs to Chaotic Hedgehog. Katherine belongs to BlackSandHeart. Mentions of the Sonic characters belong to SEGA.**

_A Fight For A Fox- Part 1_

To say that she was nervous would be an understatement.

It had been months since his last attack, which really surprised her. He usually tried to take every opportunity to attack the gang and claim her as his once more. He was a creep and was absolutely obsessed with her, so why hadn't he shown his face lately? It was like he had disappeared completely off of Mobius… it was putting her on edge. What was he planning? When was he going to strike?

"Robyn?"

The grey fox blinked at the sound of her name being called. She looked up to see a familiar red hedgehog with a single black streak down his arms and legs. He had jet shoes similar to Shadow, as well as wave-patterned binders and gauntlets. He had shades resting on the top of his head and his aqua blue eyes gazed at her.

"Off in Lala land, are we?" he teased.

She giggled and smiled sweetly at him. "Not even close, Chaos."

Chaos the Hedgehog smirked as he took a seat next to her. "It sure seemed like it. You looked so distracted."

"Yeah, well, I was thinking about things. Serious things," she informed him.

He looked into her dark green eyes and saw that she looked kind of grim. "What kind of serious things?"

"Your brother," she answered quietly.

The hedgehog tensed. A scowl crossed his usually cheerful face. "You mean that _caudex_ of a vamp-hog?"

She nodded, snickering when Chaos called him an idiot. He looked back at her. "What about him?"

"Just the fact that he hasn't shown his face in months. I've searched high and low for him, and there's no sign of him. It's like he disappeared off of Mobius. I'm worried, Chaos. What if he's planning something big? I can't stop worrying about it," she sighed.

Chaos thought about it. He glanced around the forest they were sitting in, as if he expected his brother to appear out of nowhere. Then he returned his blue gaze to the grey fox and smiled as he lifted a hand to brush her bangs out of her face. "Even if he is planning something major, we can take it no problem. We always do. So don't worry your pretty little head about it; it doesn't suit you."

Robyn's face turned slightly pink as Chaos' hand dipped down to touch her cheek. During the months of Aero's absence, she had grown close to the red hedgehog next to her. They had a common fondness of picking on Shadow and cookie dough ice cream. Chaos also had a soft spot for Kelly the Echidna, whom Robyn had pretty much raised in her time as one of Eggman's captives. Chaos could be a gentleman, but he could also be a bit cocky. He really intrigued her.

Lately, however, she had been experiencing weird feelings whenever she hung around Chaos. Her heart would flutter and she would blush a lot more than she normally did. She noticed the little things he did, like those smirks he sent her way (for reasons only known to him), how he focused his blue gaze on her when she was speaking, the way that he'd pull her into a gentle hug whenever she was annoyed or upset…

She had gone to her sister, Zoey, about it. She could remember the conversation very well…

"_So, tell me what's on your mind," Zoey said one afternoon as the two foxes sat in Robyn's bedroom._

_Robyn started twirling a bit of hair around her finger- a nervous habit of hers. "Well… um… I wanted to ask you something."_

_The red fox raised an eyebrow. "Go on."_

"_Well… it's about Chaos. I've been feeling weird whenever I'm around him. Not a bad weird or anything like that… but, I don't understand it," the grey fox admitted._

_Zoey looked at her sister. A smile slowly curled her lips. "Explain."_

"_I… uh… I get all nervous and blushy. I seem to be more aware of things that he does…" Robyn trailed off as she looked at Zoey._

_Zoey was grinning. She laughed out loud, startling the grey fox. "Robyn, Robyn… darling, it's so obvious! You LIKE him!"_

_Robyn nearly choked on her water. "W-What?!"_

"_You're showing all of the obvious signs, from what you've told me. You LIKE him. A lot," the red fox teased._

Robyn shook her head. Was that it? Did she like Chaos? Was that the reason why she was all nervous around him? She had talked to the other girls about it as well, and they had said the same thing as Zoey. Even Kelly, barely eleven years old, agreed that she liked Chaos! Robyn's other sister, Alustriel, the most anti-romance person around (besides Shadow), had agreed with a roll of her eyes.

If Kelly and Alustriel both agreed with Zoey… then maybe…

She shook her head again and looked at Chaos. He was staring at the ground. His blue eyes looked distant and… conflicted?

Frowning, she scooted closer to him and put an arm around him. "Chaos?"

He glanced up. "Yeah?"

"You look troubled. What's on your mind?" the grey fox asked.

The hedgehog froze for a few seconds. He focused on her eyes, her dark green eyes. The very eyes that had been haunting many of his thoughts lately. He couldn't get them- heck, he couldn't get HER- out of his head. Her smile, her laugh, her personality… everything about her was mesmerizing.

Unbeknownst to the grey fox, Chaos the Hedgehog was crushing on her. Big time.

He sighed. "Emotional trouble, I suppose… um…"

Robyn raised an eyebrow at him. "Emotional?"

"Robyn… y'know I think that you're a good friend, right? I can trust you with anything?" the red hedgehog asked.

The grey fox nodded. "Of course!"

"Well… there's this friend of mine. She's a really good friend. She's stuck with me through a lot, and… um… I've fallen hard for her," Chaos admitted.

"Aww…" Robyn cooed as she smiled a little, though she felt a strange wave of disappointment settle in her stomach.

Chaos smiled. "We do a lot together… if only I could tell her how I feel. Because I think she feels the same way about me, but I'm not sure… I don't want to screw up the friendship I have with her…"

Robyn looked at him wistfully. He seemed really certain about this girl. Whoever she was, she was lucky. "She must be a really good friend, then…"

He looked back at her, noticing her expression. She seemed… disappointed? Did that mean… that she might…? "She is…"

"What's she like?" Robyn blurted out.

She immediately covered her mouth, her face turning pink. She hadn't meant it like that. "I… I meant… um…"

Chaos had seen this kind of thing before, especially between Silver and Katherine. He could remember Silver stuttering when he told Katherine that he cared for her, a lot. Robyn's apparent nervousness renewed the red hedgehog's hope that the grey fox returned his feelings.

He smiled a little wider as he leaned in close to her. He moved his lips to her ear and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Look in the mirror…"

**So I've decided to split this into parts because I need time to write out the (brief) confrontation and then the major fight that happens after. I haven't decided if it'll be 2 parts or 3 parts. Probably 3, but we'll see.**

**Ja ne! **


	27. A Fight For A Fox- Part 2

_**dimensionjumperal:**_** *pokes you cautiously* LIVE! I COMMAND YOU TO LIVE! D: *grins at Storm* Glad you liked it, kiddo… OY! CHAOS! GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!  
>Robyn: *blushing insanely*<strong>

_**Guest:**_** I can try, once I finish this little three-shot and a couple of other one-shots I have in mind :)**

**Same disclaimer applies from part 1.**

_A Fight For A Fox- Part 2_

Was she dreaming?

Robyn felt her face turn a brilliant shade of scarlet as Chaos moved away from her ear. He had just confessed that he had a crush on her. Here she had been thinking that he had been talking about some other girl, and then he turned it around and admitted that he had been talking about her. Her mind seemed to be slowly processing his words.

Key word: slowly.

"Ch… Chaos… me…?" she finally stuttered.

The red hedgehog smiled. "You."

The grey fox simply gaped at him. Chaos had to fight back a laugh; she looked like a goldfish with her mouth opening and closing. "I don't know why you're surprised, Robyn. I've liked you for a while now…"

"A WHILE? How long is 'a while'?" Robyn asked.

Chaos looked up at the sky, pretending to calculate as he drew numbers in the air with his index finger. "One, two… seven… meh, a while."

Robyn facepalmed. "Smart aleck…"

The red hedgehog grinned. "You know you love it."

Robyn stared back at him. Her face was still bright red. "U-Um…"

Chaos noticed her sudden change in tone and smiled softly. He lifted a hand to her chin and tilted it to the side, catching her gaze with his own. "Yes, I've liked you for a while… you're pretty, and really smart. You're like a mom to a lot of us here and you never stop fighting. Plus… you've been there for me no matter what."

His kind words started to bring tears to her eyes. She bit her lip, feeling a smile curve her lips. Chaos stroked her cheek with his thumb, catching her tears as they slid downwards. "Robyn Prower… are you crying over little old me?"

She choked out a laugh. "Chaos… you have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that you like me… because I like you too…"

The red hedgehog's eyes widened a little bit before a huge grin crossed his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I do," Robyn answered as her smile grew.

They stared at each other, grinning like two teenagers that have major crushes on each other. Chaos moved his hand up to brush her bangs out of her face , but hesitated and placed his hand on her cheek instead. She tilted her head into his hand, smiling as she gently grasped his wrist. Her inner self seemed to be screaming with delight as he leaned in closer to her face.

"Can I…?" he trailed off, seemingly embarrassed.

She smiled sweetly and nodded, unable to use her voice. He leaned in a little closer, his eyes half-lidded as he looked into her dark green gaze. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes closed…

… just in time to feel a pair of hands grab her around her waist and yank her away from Chaos roughly.

Her eyes flew open and she choked out a gasp. "Wha-!?"

Chaos looked over to her. His eyes widened for a second, and then they narrowed as he stood up. "No…!"

A voice sounded from behind Robyn. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my _favorite_ little brother."

The voice made Robyn's blood run cold. Her fur stood on end as she slowly looked up into the dangerous face of Aero the Hedgehog. His left eye was still swollen shut from where it had been penetrated by an arrow, courtesy of her friend Braelyn. His fangs were slightly exposed. "Aero…"

He glared down at her, shutting her up. He turned his gaze back to Chaos. "And just what do you think you're doing with my precious rose?"

Chaos snarled. "Let her go."

"Answer my question," Aero snapped.

"None of your damn business. Let her GO," Chaos retorted.

Aero's good eye flashed dangerously. He hissed as he extended his claws and dug them into Robyn's side, causing the grey fox to cry out in pain. "I've been away, plotting and working myself up over not being able to see her. Now that I've finally completed my work, I come to see her, only to find her in the arms of my _brother_."

Chaos stared at Robyn worriedly. Aero was causing Robyn's side to bleed slightly as his claws cut into her body. "Maybe that's a hint that she still doesn't want you?"

"SILENCE!" Aero roared.

He grabbed Robyn's hair and yanked her head back, causing her to yelp. "SHE IS MINE! NOT YOURS, NOT SHADOW'S, NOT SONIC'S, MINE! I'LL BE DAMNED IF YOU COME ANYWHERE NEAR HER!"

Robyn whimpered softly. He had an iron grip on her hair and her side was stinging from his claws. "Ch… Chaos…"

Aero glared at her. "You. You will be punished for this, you traitor."

"No!" Chaos yelled as he tackled the vampire hedgehog.

Not expecting the attack, Aero grunted as Chaos slammed into him. It caused him to let go of Robyn completely, who stumbled a few inches away and clutched her side with a grimace. She hadn't expected him to hurt her physically. He had never hurt her physically, aside from him turning her into a vampire. Emotionally and mentally, sure. His absence seemed to have done more to him to make him crazy.

A flash of golden light appeared in front of the grey fox. She looked up to see Chaos' sister, Katherine. "K… Katherine!"

"Robyn! What's going on here?!" the black and red cat exclaimed as she came forward and knelt down beside her.

Chaos' ears twitched as he slugged Aero in the face. "Katherine!"

Katherine looked up and nearly paled at the sight before her. "Chaos?! Aero!"

"Ah, Katherine! You're just in time!" the vampire called out as he put Chaos in a precarious headlock.

"Leave him alone!" Katherine yelped as she drew out her sword.

Aero extended his claws again and put them near Chaos' face. "Not another move, Kathy, or Chaos loses more than his pretty face."

Katherine scowled. "Don't call me that!"

"Put the sword down," Aero growled.

Katherine's scowl deepened as she put her sword away. Robyn looked at Chaos, worried. "Don't hurt him…!"

Aero scoffed. He shoved Chaos to the side and walked over to Robyn, picking her up by the back of her shirt. "You're coming with me…"

He suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind but a small burst of Dark energy. Katherine stumbled backwards while Chaos growled. "No…!"

The black cat looked at her brother. "Just what was THAT all about? What did you do?!"

Chaos made a face. He hadn't told anyone about his feelings for Robyn, not even Katherine. He wasn't sure how people were going to react. "Robyn and I were out here talking about stuff when he showed up. He took it the wrong way and got ticked off, thus leading to that."

"Just for talking to her? Obsessive much?" Katherine sighed.

Chaos nodded, thankful that she had bought the sort-of truth. "We need to find her. Who knows what he's doing to 'punish' her?

Katherine opened her mouth, but a familiar voice cut her off. "I'm coming too!"

Chaos' eyes widened a little as he turned to face the newcomer. "Over my dead body are we letting you come, Kelly."

Kelly the Echidna put her hands on her hips. "I _have_ to, Chaos! She's just as important to me as she is to you!"

The hedgehog blinked, obviously confused on exactly what she meant. Nonetheless, he gave her a stern look. "Kelly, this time around is going to be dangerous. Aero has obviously lost the last of his marbles. It's bad enough that he could be hurting Robyn right now; the last thing I want is for you to get hurt too."

The echidna gave him a look and glanced at Katherine. The cat sighed and crossed her arms. "Chaos is right, Kelly. It's too risky."

She knelt down so she was at eye level with Kelly and smiled softly. "We're gonna bring her back. Okay? I need you to stay here. If anything goes wrong, we'll find a way to let you know so you can bring back-up."

Kelly looked at Katherine stubbornly, and then at Chaos. Then she sighed in defeat and nodded. "Fine. If you guys aren't back in an hour, I'm coming after you."

Katherine chuckled quietly as she stood up and patted Kelly on the head. "Deal."

The echidna took a deep breath before turning around and walking back towards the Prower mansion. The black cat glanced towards her brother, who looked a little conflicted. "Ready?"

He nodded and focused on the spot where Aero had been standing a few minutes before. The Dark energy left behind by Aero was nauseating, but Chaos ignored it. He had to, for Robyn's sake. He gently grasped Katherine's wrist and muttered two words:

"Chaos Control."

***grimaces* I… really don't like this part. I was forever stuck on how to make Aero's appearance happen, as well as Katherine's. *sighs* Part 3 will be out soon, wrapping up this little story!**


	28. Goodbye Town

**_BlackSandHeart:_**** Wow, when was the last time I responded to a review from you on here? xD  
>*looks at Flame, then at you, then back at Flame* Chili dog…?<strong>**  
><strong>***pats Katherine's head* Yes you are. xD**

**_dimensionjumperal: _*****squees* So cute!****  
><strong>**Aero: *rolls his eyes*****  
><strong>**Yes, yes there will be. *is poked, pokes you back*  
><strong>

**NOTE: This is NOT a future epilogue to "Shatter Me"! This is something I came up with after listening to the song "Goodbye Town". I realize that some things in here are similar to things in my high school fic; this is purely for plot-related reasons. "Shatter Me" is going to have a different (and happier) ending. Again, this is NOT an epilogue!**

**Disclaimer:**** Robyn, Zoey, Kelly, and Alustriel belong to me. Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog. Katherine belongs to BlackSandHeart. Sonic and Co. belong to SEGA. "Goodbye Town" is by Lady Antebellum.**

_Goodbye Town_

"Well… didn't think I'd be coming back here again."

I glanced around the town of my adolescence. It seemed like nothing had changed in a major way; people were still walking the streets and calling out greetings to each other, restaurant signs still stood on the corners and flashed obnoxious neon lights at passing cars, and buildings were clumped together in little groups. There were a few more buildings that had been constructed in my absence, but I hardly paid them any attention as I made my way through the crowded street. Honestly, I didn't want to come back here. I hadn't been back here in over ten years; I'd wanted to leave all of it behind me. Memories, both good and bad, flashed before my eyes and I quickly adjusted my shades so no one could see my eyes watering.

My youth… things had been much more simple when I was younger.

I had my brother, Shadow, and my two sisters, Maria and Katherine. Katherine took care of us in terms of paying the bills, making sure that there was food in the fridge, and that we never felt like we were alone. Maria couldn't do much once she got sick, but she always kept her optimistic personality until the very end. She was really the only one who could keep Shadow from losing his temper with the rest of us, aside from… well, I'll get to that in a moment.

I had friends. The biggest and weirdest bunch you could ever meet. There was Silver, the most flamboyant mothertrucker I had ever met. He drove me insane most days but he was there when I needed someone to make me laugh. He and Blaze got married several years ago and have two sons who equally share their parent's powers. Blaze often sends me pictures and updates on how her little family is doing, and she always nags me to come visit them more. In my defense, I'm a busy hedgehog.

Knuckles and Rouge got married straight out of high school, which surprised all of us. We later found out it was because Rouge was pregnant and her parents were threatening to disown her if she didn't marry the baby's father. She moved up to Angel Island with Knuckles and the two had a house built close to the Master Emerald. Shade and Tikal supported the couple all the way and often babysat Violet when Rouge wanted to go out on the town. I haven't heard from them recently; last time I saw them was Amy's baby shower a few years ago.

Speaking of Amy, she's one of the few people I see frequently. Why? Because she married Shadow. Yeah, she married my _brother_. I'm still not exactly sure how the hell THAT managed to happen, but apparently they got closer while attending college and decided to give a relationship a try. Shadow was just what Amy needed after Sonic broke up with her, and Shadow became a bit of a happier person with her- almost the way he was before Maria died. They named their daughter- my niece- after Maria, which I thought was perfect because she's got Maria's sweet and loving personality. The three of them live in a house not too far from me, so Amy is always inviting me to dinner and Shadow usually demands that I spend time with Maria- which I really don't mind. The girl has me wrapped around her finger, I won't deny that.

Regarding Sonic, I don't have too much to say about him. Once he made enough money, he left town and never looked back. I mean, NEVER. He didn't come to the high school reunion, he didn't come to any of the weddings, and he never showed up for the random hangouts the group would arrange from time to time. He left Amy crying in the middle of her second year of college, which really soured his reputation amongst the rest of us considering that he never apologized to her. The only one who hears ANYTHING from him is Tails, and even then he doesn't say much. All I know from my two-tailed friend is that the blue hedgehog spends a lot of time traveling the world.

Cosmo and Cream are the other two I don't hear much about either. The whole love triangle between them and Tails got kind of messy during college, so once they graduated they went their separate ways. Last I heard, Cream apparently has a boyfriend named Charmy and Cosmo writes letters to Tails all the time. Poor girl still loves him, even after all this time. I would bet fifty rings that Tails still loves her too.

Kelly the Echidna is another one I keep in contact with. We've been close since elementary school, so when I left town she immediately came after me and refused to leave my side. She became my rock as I struggled to get over the pain of what happened. Anything I needed- from a shoulder to cry on, to something I could break against the bedroom wall, to a night on the town- she was there. She kept me sane, and I can honestly say that I will forever appreciate her for that. She was hurting just as much as I was, but she always put me first. The girl is a saint.

Finally, there was Tails and his family. Tails and I kept in contact via letters and Skype calls. He had grown up to be quite the accomplished mechanic. His older sister, Alustriel (AKA Ace), was very proud of him; the two ran a repair shop together. Alustriel still held her position at GUN; she was training to be THE commander once the current leader stepped down. Their other sister, Zoey, was a licensed beautician, a part-time bartender, and still designed clothes in her spare time. Sometimes I received packages from her that were filled with clothes to give to Maria. Despite the family's successes, however, none of the siblings had fully gotten over what had happened.

Now, dear reader, I know you're wondering what the heck happened that caused the group to drift apart. Why did I leave town, why did Kelly come after me, why were the Prowers still hurting? Well, it all has to do with the one girl who changed my life completely. My best friend, the one person who understood me better than anyone else. The girl who turned out to be the love of my life.

Robyn Prower.

_Right there's the high school where we met  
>We'd sneak out back for a couple kisses and a cigarette<br>And that parking lot was our first date  
>And her momma slammed the door when I dropped her off too late<em>

Thinking of her caused me to grimace and my heart to stop for a millisecond. I'd known her since I was five years old. She wasn't like other girls, which had been a breath of fresh air. She and her sister Sapphira were both tomboys, though Sapphira had been moreso than Robyn. Yet Robyn was the one I really connected with, for reasons I never fully understood. She was smart, funny, random as hell, and beautiful in every sense. Her smile could light up any room and her eyes could really captivate a guy. She was there when anyone needed someone to vent to, and she defined the phrase "obsessed with cookie dough". She was also exceedingly talented at playing her violin; we often played music together throughout high school (I played piano). She was sometimes unpredictable, which intrigued me and kept me wanting more.

That didn't mean she was perfect. Her temper sometimes got the better of her and she often got distracted. By often, I mean often. I had to save her sorry butt many times during class because she would start daydreaming. She could also be kind of lazy, and she was such a _girl_ sometimes that it left me confused. Nonetheless, I needed her. My day was not made without her around.

_She's gone  
>Chasing that highway wind<br>She's gone  
>She ain't coming back again<em>

I glanced around my surroundings again. Up ahead, I could spot Chaos High (totally named after me. I don't care what anyone says) in all its glory. The building was still in use, seeing as there were students flooding out of the doors for the weekend. I chuckled faintly at some of the good memories that came to mind regarding high school, and then I spotted a bar on the corner of the street. My mind wandered for a second to a certain red fox who worked at said bar the last time I heard from Tails, so I went inside to look.

Sure enough, there she was. She was standing behind the counter, cleaning a shot glass with a rag. Her ears twitched at the sound of the bell ringing above the door and her eyes went to me. They widened for a fraction of a second before she set the glass down and ran out from behind the counter to hug me. "Chaos!"

I smiled slightly and returned her embrace. "Hey, Zoey."

She pulled away after a few seconds and placed her hands on my shoulders before looking me up and down. "It's been a while. You look good."

"So do you." I glanced around the empty bar. "It's quiet."

She chuckled. "We close for a couple hours on Fridays, between two and five, to prepare for the nightly shenanigans."

"Shenanigans, huh? Now there's some lingo I haven't heard in a long time," I commented as I went to sit on one of the stools.

A small smile curled the corners of Zoey's lips as she walked back behind the counter and picked up the glass again. "Well, you haven't been here in a long time."

I sighed. "True that…"

She looked at me questioningly. "What made you decide to drop by, anyway? Tails didn't mention anything about it."

"I… I didn't tell Tails. It was kind of a last-minute decision," I admitted while scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

She raised an eyebrow at me for a moment, and then she sighed softly. "It's Robyn, isn't it?"

I cringed slightly, but nodded. "Yeah… I was thinking… I needed to come visit her. And… y'know…"

She nodded understandingly and started cleaning the shot glass again, seemingly interested in a speck of dirt that wouldn't budge. A wave of guilt washed over me as I saw her eyes water. Ten years and the loss was still getting to her. I drummed my fingers lightly on the counter, wishing there was something I could say. But what could I say? An apology wouldn't be good enough.

_(Chorus)  
>This ain't nothing<br>Nothing but a goodbye town  
>These streets are only bringing me down<br>Gotta find a way to finally get out  
>Out of this goodbye town<em>

Zoey looked over at me again as she continued cleaning the tiny glass. "Do you want me to come with you?"

I hesitated before shaking my head. "I need to do it alone. But thanks, Zoe."

She smiled sadly at me and reached over to place her hand on top of mine. "She's been waiting for you, Chaos. They both have. You haven't been back there since that day, have you?"

I shook my head again, biting my lip to keep me from tearing up. "I couldn't do it, Zoe... I just couldn't. You have no idea how many times Kelly yelled at me to visit them..."

She chuckled. "When Kelly yells, you should heed her words."

"I avoided her when she yelled." I rubbed my temple. "Like a coward."

She looked at me somewhat sternly, but there was a level of softness in her eyes as well. "Chaos, you're not a coward. Your grief is understandable considering how much you lost. Kelly is only yelling because she cares about you. She knows that the first step takes time."

I nodded, thinking about the fact that Kelly lost her brother when she was a child. "I guess so."

She glanced towards the door, and then back at me. "You should go before the streets get too busy. I also heard it's gonna rain soon."

Rain. Fitting for a day like today. "Thanks, Zoe. I'll try to stop in before I leave."

She smiled sadly again and then leaned over the counter to kiss my forehead. "Don't be gone too long this time. We miss you around here."

I stood up and put my hands in my pockets. "I'll do my best."

**-XxXxX-**

It started raining once I got to my destination: the cemetery. It looked gloomier than it had ten years ago. It also looked a bit larger than I remembered. I ended up walking around for a few moments before I found the headstone I was looking for. Grey, just like the other ones, but it was darker in color and it had a bouquet of red roses sitting in a pot connected to the side. Fresh ones, too- someone had put them there very recently. Considering it was just after the anniversary, I wasn't too surprised. I shuffled my hands around in my pocket and stared at the writing on the stone.

**In Loving Memory of Robyn Prower  
>2317-2335<br>Beautiful Daughter, Talented Sister, Loving Girlfriend.  
>A Kind Soul In A World That Needed A Ray Of Sunshine.<br>Gone But Not Forgotten.**

My eyes started watering again. I knew it would happen, but I still hated the feeling. I knelt down next to the stone and placed a hand on it, stroking it with my thumb. Words failed me for a moment as a lump started to form in my throat. The rain was just a gentle sprinkle at the moment.

_We sat down on those courthouse steps  
>Fourth of July those fireworks over our heads<br>And they'd ring the bells of that little church  
>No there ain't nowhere I can look that doesn't hurt<br>_

"Hey, Robyn… long time no see," I said quietly to the stone.

No response, obviously. I felt a little silly talking to a headstone, but I pushed the feeling away. My visit was long overdue. Besides, no one else was here.

"Oh boy… where do I begin? Um… I'm sorry I haven't come to visit. After you died… I just couldn't handle it. I left town to get away from all of it. I didn't want to accept that you were gone…" I trailed off for a second as tears started sliding down my face.

The rain started to come down just a tiny bit harder. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and swallowed the lump in my throat again. "Not a day has passed where I haven't thought about you... you were my best friend… hell, you still are. No matter what… I miss you so damn much. Your smile, your laugh, your hugs… everything…"

_She's gone  
>But I still feel her on my skin<br>She's gone  
>But she ain't coming back again<em>

I looked up at the darkening sky. Yes, Robyn had died just a little over ten years ago. She was driving home from the store one day in a terrible storm and a semi-truck nearly ran her over. She swerved off of the road and slammed into another car violently. Her car had been an old piece of crap, so when it hit the other car it burst into huge flames. Robyn was sent into a coma due to the accident and the driver of the other car was admitted to the hospital with minor injuries. Robyn spent a week in the hospital with the doctors trying to do everything they could to save her… but it wasn't enough. She passed away whilst in her coma.

I remembered getting the news all too well. Tails and I had been chilling out in the park, debating whether or not we wanted to go see a movie or go see Robyn first. Alustriel called Tails' cell phone… it was the first time I had ever heard her cry. When she gave us the news… everything just went numb. Tails actually dropped his phone on the ground while his mouth hung open with shock and disbelief. As for me, I nearly lost it right then and there. Instead I grabbed Tails and we ran all the way to the hospital just in time for Zoey and Alustriel to arrive. Both women had been crying hard, and as soon as Tails walked up they burst into more tears and hugged him. I stood there for a moment and then Zoey pulled me into the hug as well.

_(Repeat Chorus)_

I got a glimpse of her body as they were moving her out of her hospital room. She looked peaceful, like she was only sleeping. I took the opportunity to run up and kiss her forehead before the tears let loose. I actually caused a scene right there in the hallway, screaming and cursing the fates above, the doctors, the drivers, everything. It wasn't fair. Tails and Alustriel had to drag me out of the hospital, kicking and yelling, before I finally broke down on the sidewalk and sobbed my eyes out. She had been my best friend, and the girl I'd loved more than anything.

Well… there actually WAS one person I loved just as much as her…

I glanced down at the bottom of the headstone. There was more writing, albeit smaller. It almost pained me to read it, but I read it anyway. It was the other half of my reason for visiting.

**Also In Loving Memory Of Eternity Prower-Hedgehog.  
>Daughter of Robyn Prower and Chaos the Hedgehog.<br>Her Life Ended Before It Began.  
>RIP, Little Angel.<strong>

Yeah. Robyn had been pregnant at the time of the accident… with my child.

_I can't erase the memories  
>And I can't burn the whole place down<em>

I should probably backtrack a little. During high school, I discovered that I had feelings for Robyn when she started dating Sonic. She seemed to fade away for a while, always spending time with him. I guess Kelly or somebody told her about how I missed her, because she eventually came back around. Then she and Sonic started having problems- Sonic seemed to be distracted by Amy and Robyn seemed to be distracted by somebody else. Doing my duty as best friend, I spent as much time as I could with Robyn, taking her out to be a teenager and forget about her relationship problems for a while. It got harder and harder to control my feelings for her, especially when she seemed to be sharing the same feelings that I did. There were a few stolen kisses in the heat of the moment, and although she always said something about Sonic afterward, it didn't stop her the next time I kissed her.

Then came the night of Rouge's party. We were celebrating an early spring break at one of the clubs that Rouge's family owned. Robyn came with Sonic and I came with Amy and Tails. Word got out and a whole bunch of people from school came to celebrate too. There was alcohol and obnoxious music all around, and mixed with teenage hormones… it's usually never a good thing. Somewhere in the middle of the night Robyn got into a shouting match with Sonic because he had been dancing very provocatively with Amy before pulling her into a secluded corner to kiss her. He actually shouted back at Robyn and told her that he was falling for Amy, and that it was over between them. The look on Robyn's face… it broke my heart to see it. She started crying and ran out of the club. I ran out after her and pulled her into the tightest hug I'd ever given her while she cried. Then I took her home and curled up with her on her bed, doing everything I could to comfort her. Zoey and Alustriel had been out that night doing work-related things, so it was just us two in the house.

Sometime after that the alcohol seemed to suddenly kick into full-gear for both of us. We started talking about the most random crap to ever be discussed at 2am. Meanwhile my thoughts started running away with my imagination and how good Robyn looked in the little black dress she had been wearing…

Then she told me she loved me and she kissed me.

My mind went blank after that… or at least it did somewhat. The next thing I remembered was Robyn telling me to be gentle as she traced her finger down my cheek. Past that, I didn't remember much. We both woke up hours later, realized what we had done, and literally stared at each other for five minutes. Usually in a situation like that the guy would flee and leave the girl behind to comprehend what she had done. My feelings for her prevailed, however, and I told her the truth…

"_Robyn…" I trailed off as I took her chin between my thumb and my index finger, forcing her to look at me. Her jade eyes searched my aqua-blue ones, seemingly surprised at the love written in my gaze. _

"_I've only recently discovered these feelings for you. Sonic made me realize them when he asked you to be his girlfriend and you started slipping away. But if I think further about it… I've loved you since day one," I breathed._

_She stared at me, wide-eyed. "Ch… Chaos…"_

_I kissed her briefly to shush her. She was startled at first, but then she gave into the kiss and placed her hand on my cheek. I smiled against her lips and pulled away slightly, dropping my voice to a whisper. "I've loved you since day one, dammit. All those guys that had crushes on you and came to me for advice, I scared half of them off. I thought I was just being a protective friend, but Sonic made me realize what it really was. I was doing it because I love you. I didn't want anyone else to have you. I wanted to be the one to make you laugh, to pick you up and kiss you senseless, to take you out and treat you like a princess, and all that mushy stuff that couples do. But I was a stupid boy and didn't know it until now…"_

_"Chaos," she smiled, "You don't have to explain. I've felt the exact same way since day one."_

_My eyes widened. "Wait… what?"_

_She leaned in and kissed me softly. "I've always loved you. All those girls that got to go on dates with you, I was jealous of. I spent countless nights wondering what I would have to do in order to get your attention. It's like you said, I wanted to be the one to make you laugh, to get to kiss you, and all that stuff… Sonic, I realize now, was just a phase. I was hoping to get over you by going out with him, and it worked for a little while…"_

We talked for the longest time about it, and then we agreed to give the relationship a try. I'd never spent a day in my life smiling that much. Her siblings found out first and to our embarrassment, they weren't surprised. Zoey made a comment about how she just knew that we'd end up together someday. Slowly the rest of the group found out and they all said the same thing. Even Amy said the same thing, and then she apologized profusely for her behavior and Sonic's behavior. The blue hedgehog himself actually avoided us for a couple weeks after the incident. It took some threatening from everybody else before he pulled us aside one day to apologize. We forgave him and moved on, hand-in-hand.

Spring break ended. Prom came and went. Our final days came and went. Graduation came and went. We found out about Rouge's pregnancy and went to her wedding about a month after. During that time Robyn seemed to fall ill with something; she'd wake up in the morning and bolt for the bathroom to throw up. She had constant headaches and very little appetite, and took frequent naps. I begged her to go to the doctor to get it checked out, but being the stubborn fox she was she told me she didn't want to miss the wedding. So I made her promise that she would go to the doctor the day after the wedding.

She came over that night and told me she needed to talk to me. She explained a little bit about what the doctor had said and then handed me a slip of paper. I looked at it and felt my heart stop.

She was pregnant.

I remember freaking out about it. We had been planning to go to Angel Island University and get an apartment with a couple of the others. Robyn looked at me with such a worried expression that it made me realize just how bad she was feeling. I'd be able to go to college just fine, but she'd have to wait until the baby was born and then figure out what to do from there. I promised her that I'd wait for her, and that we'd go through it together.

The others reacted almost as expected. Everyone freaked out. Alustriel threatened to kill me, Tails couldn't believe he was going to be an uncle, Shadow told me I was an idiot, the rest of the women squealed over the fact, and the rest of the guys looked at me like I was their hero. Even Sonic seemed slightly amused by the fact.

A few months further into her pregnancy (she was about six months along)… the accident happened. She was stolen away from me, along with our unborn baby girl. My life fell apart without her. Actually, just about everyone fell apart without her; Alustriel buried herself in her work, Zoey spent months unmotivated to design anything and temporarily shut down her salon, Tails could only be found either crying his eyes out or spending time at the grave, the girls mourned for ages (especially Kelly, who'd looked to Robyn as a big sister), Shadow returned to the same state he'd been in after Maria (our sister) died, and the rest of the guys didn't know what to do. I left town right after the funeral; the grief had gotten to be too much. I couldn't look anywhere without seeing Robyn's smiling face, and it killed me.

_No this ain't nothing  
>Nothing but a goodbye town<br>To hell if I'm sticking around  
>Gotta find a way to finally get out<br>Out of this goodbye town_

I shook my head as I re-read the writing about Eternity. That was the name Robyn had picked out for her. It was a fitting name, considering that I told Robyn I'd love her for eternity because "always" was too short. She'd always roll her eyes at me and tell me I was cheesy, to which I'd respond by kissing her.

The rain was starting to come down harder, as were my tears from remembering everything and being in front of their grave. I stroked my thumb over Eternity's name and swallowed. "Hey, baby girl… like I told your mom, I'm sorry I haven't come to visit. It's been very rough for me…"

I looked up at the sky again and bit my lip. "I wish we'd gotten to meet you, Eternity… I always wonder who you'd look like, me or Robyn… or maybe a mix of both… I'd hope you look more like your mom than me… but you'd have my eyes… blue is awesome…"

I went quiet for a moment. "I miss both of you terribly… it's not fair, I have to live without both of you…"

The words seem to stick out in my mind. Anger suddenly swirled inside me. Why? Why did they have to be taken from me? My girlfriend, my best friend and the love of my life, gone because of a stupid car accident. My daughter, only 3 months away from being welcomed to the world, gone because her mother died. Why?

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" I suddenly screamed towards the sky as I hit the ground with my fists clenched. "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! THE ONLY THING I'M GUILTY OF IS LOVING HER! IS THAT WHY I WAS PUNISHED!? BECAUSE I LOVED HER?!"

Thunder roared in response and lightning flashed across the sky._  
><em>

_Oh yeah  
>Out of this goodbye town<br>I'm out of this town  
>So out of this town…<em>

I looked back at the headstone and the roses, tears streaming down my face. "It's not fair…"

_Oh oh oh oh oh..._

I placed both of my hands on the stone and rested my forehead against it, allowing myself to cry. All sorts of memories from my time with Robyn flashed before my eyes, especially those that happened during her pregnancy. The doctor's appointments, the cravings, the mood swings, the tender moments where I just wanted to kiss her forever, every single one of them.

But that's all she was now… was a memory. Her body (or what was left of it by now) was six feet under and could never be returned to normal. Eternity was the same way. All I could do now was remember them.

_You'll be just a memory in the back of my mind  
>You'll be just a memory, yeah<br>Oh, somewhere in the back of my mind  
>In the back of my mind, yeah<em>

I sniffled and gently kissed the headstone. "I l-love you b-both… very m-much… and I m-miss you v-very much… keep h-having fun up there, w-will you…? And w-wait for me… I-I'll see you g-guys someday…"

With that, I slowly stood up. I brushed my fingers over the headstone one last time, whispered an "I love you" to my girls, and then started walking. I didn't know where I was going yet, but I'd know eventually. As the sky gradually cleared, I looked up and nearly stopped when I thought I saw Robyn smiling down at me. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with tears and she blew a kiss to me.

When I blinked, she was gone.

_One day you're gonna look back at what we had  
>You're gonna think of me<br>You're gonna think of me  
>When I'm long gone<br>I'll be long gone_

**The feels, guys… I can't. *goes to curl up in bed* I can't… um, the final part of "A Fight For A Fox" will be up soon, and it'll end on a happier note… which is good, because I don't think I can take any more character death for a while…**


	29. A Fight For A Fox- Part 3

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** *sits next to you and gives you a hug*  
>Eternity: *walks over, smiles, and also gives you a hug*<strong>

**Same disclaimer applies from part 1.**

_A Fight For A Fox- Part 3_

A bright light lit up the area for a few seconds before two figures appeared out of it. Chaos the Hedgehog and his sister Katherine the Light Giver squinted at the light until it died down, and then they studied their new surroundings. They were well beyond the forest; the area was open with spare plants here and there, struggling to cling to life. An abandoned dirt road led further out, as well as back to the forest in the distance.

The one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the building on the side of the road. It was the only one that could be seen for miles; it was tall, a rusty silver color, and appeared to be abandoned. It looked like it could've been used as a science lab once upon a time, which made Chaos frown.

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"His energy trail is leading into that building," Chaos answered as he stared at it.

The black cat also frowned. "It looks abandoned…"

"Which means it'd be the perfect place for him to carry out whatever he's planning," Chaos said through gritted teeth.

Katherine studied her brother. He seemed more on edge than he usually did whenever Aero showed his face. "Are you okay, Chaos?"

The hedgehog blinked, confused by the question. "What do you think? He has Robyn."

"I know, but you're more agitated by this than you usually are. I want to know why," the cat said.

He turned his head to look at her. "She's my friend."

"She's mine too," Katherine retorted.

Chaos shook his head. "You know how close Robyn and I have gotten lately…"

The cat raised an eyebrow and puzzled over his words. Chaos stared at her, and then he sighed exasperatedly. "You really wanna know why? I like her. A lot. Aero found out when Robyn and I were talking, and that's why he's even more pissed than he normally is."

Katherine immediately swatted him for the language, and then her eyes widened a little. "You like her…?"

"She's my Silver, Katherine," the hedgehog smirked.

The cat's face darkened. "Okay, okay, I get it. I just… I didn't think that after Maria…"

Chaos held a hand up for her to stop. "I know. I didn't either."

"Humph… well. This explains a lot," Katherine sighed.

Chaos nodded and returned his gaze to the building. His eyes found a broken window on the ground floor and he motioned for Katherine to follow him. The two siblings snuck over to the window and peeked through. The room seemed to be a lobby of sorts, with a counter and a few broken computers behind it. Old chairs lined the wall close to the door, which was sealed shut. Chaos scowled and jumped through the window, keeping a close eye out for Aero as Katherine came in behind him.

"It just got stronger. He's definitely in here somewhere," Chaos said.

Katherine also scowled. Her eyes fell upon a set of metal double doors. These doors hadn't been sealed; one of them was open just a crack and her ears twitched upon hearing voices. Specifically, a male voice that still disgusted her to this day. "He's through there."

Chaos nodded as he listened and he reached to pat his GUN-issued gun on his hip. Katherine eyed it warily before sliding up to the door and peeking through the crack. Her eyes widened as she spotted Aero standing on a platform that had seen better days. It went all around the room, starting just a few feet in front of the door. It circled around a giant cauldron that sat in the middle of the room. Her eyes darted around the room as Chaos also peeked through the crack. He bit his lip to keep back the growl building up in his throat.

Why?

Because Robyn was chained up and gagged, dangling from a metal crane hook over the cauldron. Hissing sounds came from the cauldron and a nasty smell hit Chaos' nose, which caused his eyes to widen.

"Acid," he whispered.

Katherine stepped back and stared at him. "Acid?!"

Chaos nodded slowly. Katherine gulped. "Isn't acid very dangerous for vampires?"

"It can kill them. Which means… he might be planning…" Chaos trailed off.

Katherine turned back to the door and looked through the crack. Aero walked over to the captive fox and brought her over to him, smirking as he looked at her chains. "Well, my dear, what shall we do with you? You've been a traitor."

Robyn looked at him reluctantly. "Mmph…"

"Sonic? Fine. Shadow? That's pushing it. But Chaos? Unacceptable," Aero growled as he clenched his free fist.

Robyn's ears flattened as she looked down at the acid. Aero watched her. "The acid seems to be a fitting punishment."

Chaos had heard enough. He gently pushed Katherine away from the door before slamming his foot into it, knocking it off its hinges and sending it flying into the room. Aero's ears perked up and he glanced to the door to see Chaos and Katherine rush in. "Well… if it isn't two of my siblings. Chaos and Katherine."

Robyn's eyes widened as she looked at the two. "Mmph!"

Chaos scowled angrily. "Let her go, Aero!"

"Hm… let me think about that." Aero put a finger to his chin and tapped it thoughtfully. He walked around the platform and emitted small "Hmm"s of thought. Then he teleported down to his siblings and smirked. "Nah. I'll be keeping her."

He teleported back up to the platform just as Chaos lunged at him. Katherine growled as she glared up at the vampire. "Let her go before we make you regret ever taking her."

"Hmph," was Aero's only response.

He walked back over to Robyn and pulled her close to him again, causing the fox to whimper. Chaos growled. "Don't you dare…!"

"And why shouldn't I?" Aero snapped.

Chaos took a step towards the stairs. "Because you are in for a world of pain otherwise."

Aero narrowed his eyes as Chaos and Katherine made their way up the stairs. "One step closer and I'll drop her in. No questions asked."

Katherine glanced over to Robyn. The fox's eyes were wide with terror. She turned her attention back to Aero. "You wouldn't…"

"I would," Aero snarled.

The cat turned her head to look at Chaos. The Original Lifeform seemed to be concentrating on something. He stared at Aero intensely. "Who says I need to step?"

Aero growled. "Not. A. Single. Millimeter."

Chaos raised an eyebrow as he gestured to the acid. "Wouldn't this throw a kink in your so-called 'master plan'?"

Aero blinked. "Which one?"

Chaos rolled his eyes. "The one where you try to make Robyn yours and yours alone?"

"Ah, yes. Well. You see, things change. If I can't have her…" Aero trailed off and looked pointedly at his siblings while standing near a control panel.

"Then no one can… how cliché," Chaos sighed.

With a snarl, Aero smashed his hand down on a button. Robyn suddenly dropped down, dangerously close, to the acid. She screamed through her gag as Chaos and Katherine stared with wide eyes. Aero was breathing kind of heavily. "Do NOT test my patience!"

Chaos clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles were white. "Okay… okay!"

An evil smile found its way to Aero's muzzle. "Good… good."

He pushed another button and Robyn was lifted high above the acid again. She looked at Chaos with tears in her eyes, which nearly broke his heart. The poor fox was terrified; her stalker had obviously lost his mind and was threatening to let her plunge into a cauldron of acid, something that was very dangerous to vampires like herself (and even Aero himself). She didn't deserve any of the torture.

He gritted his teeth. "You bastard…"

Katherine punched his shoulder. Aero smirked. "Loser say what?"

He brought Robyn close to him again and touched her face with his index finger. The fox shut her eyes, trying to ignore the feel of his finger as it moved across her face. She heard Chaos growl faintly and Katherine grit her teeth. "Stop touching her."

Aero ignored her. She looked at Chaos and noticed that he had his hands behind his back. They were starting to glow cyan, which meant that he had a plan. He spread his fingers out to show the number ten to her, then he slowly started counting down on them. He smirked darkly at Aero. Ten, nine, eight. "So tell me… how much of a death wish do you have?"

Aero scoffed. "Please."

Seven, six, five, four. "Say… acid?"

Aero raised an eyebrow. "What-"

Three, two, one. As soon as his fingers curled into fists and he winked, Katherine teleported above the platform and Chaos fired the Cyan lazer at the cauldron of acid. The top of the cauldron broke on impact and acid started to spill forth. Aero snarled and slammed his fist down on another button. This one caused the crane to let go of Robyn completely, and she fell towards the acid screaming through her gag. Chaos instinctively jumped towards her and caught her before using Chaos Control to teleport to the other side of the platform. He set the bound fox down and hissed as he put a hand to his leg; a little bit of the acid had managed to splash him. Aero snarled and was about to jump towards them when Katherine tackled him off of the platform. The two rolled to the ground below and started fighting.

Robyn looked at Chaos worriedly. He shook his head and looked her over quickly before undoing her gag. "Are you okay!?"

The fox opened her mouth and a whimper escaped her lips. She squirmed in her chains. Chaos nodded shortly in understanding and started tugging at the chains. He would've used his sword to break the chains off, but he didn't want to risk slicing Robyn in the process. He continued to tug until one of the links snapped.

Robyn winced as the chain nipped her arm. "Ow…"

He looked at her apologetically as he started to unravel the chains. "I'm sorry, Robyn… I don't have anything I can use that won't severely hurt you."

Her voice was raspy as she spoke. "It's okay…"

Chaos' hands shook as he finished taking the chains off. "Why did he have to go all insane on us now…?"

He looked her over again and then gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Stay here. There's a vamphog that has a date with my fist."

Robyn nodded slowly. Chaos turned and jumped down from the platform… right on top of Aero. The vampire yelped as he was suddenly knocked to the floor. Katherine jumped away from the acid and looked at Chaos. "Is she okay?!"

"For now!" Chaos responded as he drove his fist into Aero's face.

Aero snarled as he elbowed Chaos in the chest. The two wrestled with each other, throwing punches and insults at each other. Katherine glanced over to the cauldron and gasped. The crack that Chaos had caused with the Cyan Lazer was beginning to form all the way towards the bottom. If they didn't hurry up, it would break completely and ALL of the acid would come spilling out.

"CHAOS! We need to get out of here!" she yelped.

Chaos' eyes went to the cauldron… just as it began to completely break. Robyn shrieked on the platform above and passed out from shock. Aero snarled as he grabbed Chaos' arm. "You're not getting out alive!"

Chaos growled and slammed his knee into Aero's gut. The vampire's eyes widened and he screeched in pain as he fell to his knees. The Original Lifeform proceeded to throw Aero towards the acid before teleporting up to Robyn with Katherine appearing a second later. The two siblings bolted out of the building just as the acid began spilling everywhere. Chaos held the unconscious Robyn close in his arms, bridal-style. He glanced at Katherine, who nodded and held up both of their Soul Emeralds. The two siblings then called out in unison:

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

A few seconds later, they found themselves outside of the Prower mansion. Katherine put her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. "That was too close."

Chaos nodded as he walked over to the nearest tree and propped Robyn up against it. He knelt next to her and placed a hand on her cheek gently. The black cat took that as a sign that he wanted to be alone and she smiled faintly. "I'll go let Kelly know we're back."

She headed inside with a swish of her tail. Chaos' ears twitched as the front door closed behind her. He kept his gaze on the unconscious fox in front of him and smiled faintly as her chest rose and fell with each breath. She was slowly coming around. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and muttered something under his breath.

Suddenly, Robyn stirred. Chaos kept his hand cupped around her cheek and smiled as her jade eyes slowly opened. "Robyn..."

She coughed weakly. "Ch... Chaos..."

"Shh, shh... don't exert yourself. The shock is still running through your system," the red hedgehog said as he lifted his hand to stroke her head.

Robyn blinked at him. He smiled with relief. "You're okay... we got you."

"Where's... Katherine?" the grey fox whispered.

"Inside. Kelly just about went bananas when we went to save you; I'm sure Katherine is calming her down as we speak," Chaos said.

He sat down and gently pulled her onto his lap. The grey fox looked at him for a moment before tears started to well up in her eyes. She hid her face in his shoulder and started shaking as the tears slid down her face. "Oh, Chaos…"

"Shhh, Robyn… I've got you… he's not gonna lay a finger on you again," the hedgehog whispered as he wrapped his arms around her.

"He was… he was going to k-kill me…" Robyn gasped.

Chaos shook his head in disbelief. "I never thought THAT would turn into his plan… he's been chasing you for years and now he tried to kill you because of me?"

Robyn winced as she pulled back to look at him. "With acid, no less… it's extremely deadly to us vampires…"

"Then hopefully I ended this madness when I shoved him towards the stuff," Chaos said coldly.

Robyn sighed. "I hope so…

The red hedgehog hugged her tighter. "Even if he somehow survived, he won't hurt you again... I swear it..."

Robyn's face turned pink as she found her face buried in the crook of Chaos' neck. She gently returned his hug. "I know..."

Chaos slowly pulled back to look into her eyes. He kept one arm wrapped around her and lifted his free hand upward. He took her chin between his thumb and index finger and leaned in close, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He felt a spark between them (and instantly felt the cliché-ness about it) but it was a wonderful feeling all the same. He felt Robyn's surprise for a few seconds before she gave into the kiss. She reached up and placed her hands gently on his face before pulling back slightly to whisper his name.

"… Am I interrupting?"

Robyn nearly fell off of Chaos' lap as she jumped, startled. Chaos wrapped his arms around her again to steady her before glaring at Katherine. "Kind of."

Katherine smirked. "Good. I suggest you ready yourself, Robyn, because Kelly is about to come flying out here in three… two… one…"

"RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOBBBYYYYNNNNNNNNNNN! ! !"

"Oh holy mother of apples!" Robyn squeaked.

Chaos chuckled as he moved one arm to allow Kelly to tackle Robyn. "Thanks for the warning."

"Ow. Hi Kels," Robyn groaned as she hugged the echidna.

Kelly hugged her back tightly. "I was worried about you! And they wouldn't let come help you and I had to pace around FOREVER waiting on any sign that you were okay and it was scary because I didn't know what Aero was planning and I didn't know if Chaos and Katherine were going to be able to handle it and I-"

Robyn put a finger to Kelly's lips. "I know, sweetie. I know. I'm okay now, though, and that's all that matters. Stop stressing yourself out."

Kelly's lower lip trembled and she buried her face in Robyn's shirt. "I was scared…"

The fox gently smoothed her dreads down. "I know. I was too."

Chaos wrapped his arms around both of them. "I was downright terrified, Kels. I didn't think that we'd find her or make it in time to stop Aero. But we did, and she's safe and sound. So… what do you say we go have some ice cream and try to forget about this?"

Kelly immediately jumped up, her eyes brightening. "ICE CREAM!"

Katherine, Robyn, and Chaos all laughed. Then Katherine reached her hand out and pulled Robyn up so Chaos could stand up. The hedgehog dusted himself off before taking Robyn's hand, which caught Kelly's interest but she was distracted by the promise of ice cream and ran back towards the house. Katherine ran after her, yelling something about minding the door, which caused Chaos and Robyn to laugh harder. Grinning, Chaos wrapped an arm around Robyn and pressed a kiss to her cheek before the two walked towards the house with Robyn blushing and Chaos grinning like an idiot with a crush. He knew he'd be bombarded with questions by the other residents of the Prower household when he walked in, but he didn't care. He had the most amazing girl by his side, and he was happy.

That was all that mattered.

**:3 Finally, a happy ending for once! xD **

**Anywho… uh… I really don't have anything else to say, other than I don't know when the next one-shot will be appearing. I'm gearing myself up for NaNoWriMo this year so all of my others stories will be put on hold until the end of November. **

**So… yup. *goes off to bed because it is 1:30am and I have class in 8.5 hours***


	30. She's Got It All

_**werewolf99: **_**Thank you!**

_**dimensionjumperal: **_***covers ears* All ze squealing! :o and intensity. *nod nod* It should look familiar! I took quite a bit of it from our roleplay xD I will admit that when they FINALLY kissed, I squee'd. A lot. :'D  
><strong>**Robyn: You always squee when we do something cute…  
><strong>**BECAUSE YOU TWO ARE CUTE.  
><strong>**Glad you liked it, little brother! :D**

**Okay, so I lied about not posting anything else this month. But I finally received inspiration for this one-shot and I HAD to write it. Expect lots of Chaobyn fluff! :D**

**Disclaimer:**** Sonic and co. belong to SEGA. Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog/dimensionjumperal. Robyn, Alustriel, Zoey, Braelyn, Mathius, and Kelly belong to me. "She's Got It All" belongs to Kenny Chesney.**

_She's Got It All_

GUN HQ was full of its usual hustle and bustle, like any other day. The soldiers were receiving their daily missions, the tech guys were tinkering with new and old machines, and the janitors were trying to keep the place clean. It was sometimes a harder job that it looked- spilled coffee and random bits of soldiers' weapons that could sometimes be hazardous found their way into the janitors' cleaning supplies and then the boss would have to come deal with it.

That day, however, the boss was in her office with the door shut. She had a pile of reports to get through and a few documents to finish typing up. A frown crossed her youthful face as her fingers flew across the keyboard. "Hmm…"

_Knock knock knock_.

Alustriel Prower, GUN Commander, paused in the middle of her typed sentence and peered over the top of her laptop. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Chaos. Can I come in?" a familiar voice asked.

The blue fox rolled her eyes. "I don't know. _Can_ you?"

"… _May _I come in, Commander?" the voice asked with a sense of slight irritation.

"The door is unlocked."

The mahogany door slowly creaked open and a certain red hedgehog with black streaks in his quills stepped into the room. His aqua-blue eyes glanced around the room cautiously before he closed the door behind him. His gaze went to Alustriel, who saved her document and closed her laptop before returning her attention to him. "What is it, Chaos?"

"Um… I wanted to talk to you. It's kind of important, but if you're busy I can wait," the hedgehog said as he shifted uncomfortably.

The blue fox raised an eyebrow at him, and then gestured to one of the chairs sitting in front of her desk. "Have a seat."

Chaos nodded gratefully and sat down. "Thanks, Ace."

Alustriel tapped her fingers together as she studied his face. The hedgehog seemed as composed as ever, but something in his eyes suggested that he was nervous about something. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh yeah. Perfect. I just… uhm…" Chaos scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I just wanted to ask you something important."

"I'm all ears," the Commander said.

The Original Lifeform swallowed and then reached into the pocket of his jacket. He brought out a little velvet box and opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. It was a silver band with flowers carved into the edges and had a medium-sized diamond surrounded by two lines of smaller diamonds **(A/N: link to the picture will be at the end of the story.)** Alustriel's brown eyes examined the ring before meeting Chaos' anxious gaze.

"I'm flattered, but you know that I don't have romantic feelings for you," she deadpanned.

The hedgehog blinked, took a few seconds to register her words, and then facepalmed. "Smart-ass."

The Commander smirked. "Thank you. I'll be here all week."

"I've never seen you so joke-y before. I like it," Chaos laughed.

"Don't get used to it. Now… about this ring. I can already guess as to why you're showing it to me," Alustriel said.

"Yeah… Alustriel, Robyn and I have been together for a year now. She… she means everything to me. With your blessing… I want to marry her," Chaos said as he placed the velvet box on the desk.

A faint smile slowly curled Alustriel's lips. "Well. I'll admit, I didn't see this coming any time soon, but I'm not surprised."

She pushed her chair back and stood up to walk around the desk. Chaos watched her, admiring how her mere presence could command an entire room. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the Commander of GUN, and Tails' sister."

Alustriel chuckled. She walked over to the single window her office and stared out at the streets of Station Square. "Chaos, I should hope that you know how much I respect you, no matter how much you drive me insane with the way you do things. I honestly considered asking you to handle the position of being my second-in-command…"

Chaos raised an eyebrow. This was news to him. "Oh?"

"I will not go into the reasons why I thought about it, nor the reasons why I ended up choosing Shadow. That's not the point. My point is that ever since you started dating my sister, she's been a lot happier than I've ever seen her. I never thought she would find that kind of happiness again. I admire the way you've saved her," the Commander said.

She fixed her brown eyes on the hedgehog again and walked over to him. She picked up the box and placed it in his hand, gently closing his fingers over it. "You have my full-hearted blessing. Go make her the happiest woman alive."

Chaos grinned and stood up. He placed the box back in the pocket of his jacket before pulling the blue fox into a hug. "Thank you, Ace…"

Alustriel blinked, somewhat startled by the embrace, but she returned it regardless. "Thank YOU, Chaos."

As the hedgehog turned to leave the office, the Commander cleared her throat. "Two things before you go, Chaos."

He turned back to her. "Yes?"

"One… I'm sure you'll want to tell a select few before you propose to Robyn. Kelly and Tails, for example," Alustriel said.

She sat down in her chair and tapped her fingers together again. "The second thing… I know I told you this when you first started going out with her, but I will repeat it. If you do anything to cause my sister pain, I WILL have your head on a silver platter. Are we clear?"

The Original Lifeform nodded and saluted her. "Loud and clear, Commander."

**-XxXxX-**

He already had the evening planned out. After he had talked to Kelly and Tails (who both flipped out about the whole thing), he went to pick Robyn up from the Prower mansion. He had called her and told her to wear something nice because he was going to take her out. Naturally, she had been curious about his plans, and he told her that she would find out when he got there.

He arrived via his usual method of transportation- Chaos Control- and knocked on the front door. "Robyn! Are you ready to go?"

"Just a second! I'm putting my shoes on!" his girlfriend called back.

Chaos took the opportunity to examine himself. He was wearing a dark grey dress shirt with nice jeans and his usual shoes, plus his jacket that housed the engagement ring. He rubbed his hands together anxiously and was about to call Robyn's name again when the front door slowly opened.

Robyn stepped out and smiled at him. "Hey…"

His eyes widened. She was wearing a sapphire-blue dress with long ruffled sleeves and black flats. The dress was made of silk and it went to the ground. It had a slit in the left leg that went up to right above the side of her knee. The whole dress had a nice shimmery effect to it and hugged her body perfectly. Her hair was slightly curled and she had a fake white flower clipped to the side of her curls.

"You look… you look beautiful," Chaos managed after several seconds of stunned silence.

Her smile grew and she blushed. "You look amazing yourself."

The hedgehog gently took her arm and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Shall we head out?"

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Robyn asked.

Chaos winked. "Where's the fun in that? Chaos… CONTROL!"

The two disappeared via the familiar golden light and reappeared outside of a popular, classy diner in Station Square. Robyn's jade eyes widened at the sight. "This is… this is where we went for our first date."

"Glad to see you remember," Chaos smiled as he led her inside.

The two were seated immediately and their orders were quickly placed. They were given a small bottle of wine to share (compliments from the head of the restaurant, who knew Chaos). They talked endlessly about what was going on as they dined, and both laughed as they shared stories about their comrades.

Once they were finished, Robyn smiled and patted her stomach. "I'm stuffed. That was an excellent course."

Chaos smiled as he paid the waiter and stood up, extending his hand to his girlfriend. "Hopefully you have a little room to spare for ice cream?"

"Hmm… I'm sure I can spare a little room," the grey fox laughed as she took his hand.

The two left the diner after saying their goodbyes to the head of the restaurant and made their way down the street to the local ice cream shop. Chaos paid for a cookie dough cone and a mint cone and smiled as Robyn dove right into her ice cream. The girl absolutely LOVED cookie dough. He discreetly checked the time and saw that it was close to eight o'clock.

"What do you say to a stroll in the park?" he asked as they finished their dessert.

Robyn smiled. "It's a beautiful night for a walk."

"Not as beautiful as you," Chaos whispered as he leaned in to kiss her lips gently.

The grey fox blushed bright red as she returned the sweet kiss. She was quick to wrap her arms around him and he copied the gesture. The kiss was brief, however, for Chaos pulled back after a few seconds and smiled at her. "Come on, you."

He moved to take her hand and the two walked down the street. The sun was beginning to set and Robyn vocally admired the mix of colors across the sky. As the two entered the park, they spotted a stage in the center with a crowd of people around it. There were a few musicians on the stage, and all of them were wearing masks.

Robyn raised an eyebrow. "Wonder what this is?"

"Let's go find out," Chaos said as he led her towards the crowd.

As they made their way over, Chaos met the gaze of the singer, whose eyes were dark green- just like Robyn's. He nodded briefly and winked, and the singer copied the gesture. Robyn was completely oblivious to this, as she was too busy being curious about what was going on.

The group on stage finished their song and the crowd erupted into applause. The couple quickly joined them as they moved closer to the stage. The singer smiled at them. "Well guys, we've got quite a lovely couple here! If you two wouldn't mind joining me up here?"

Chaos had to suppress a smile at Robyn's confusion. He let go of her hand and jumped onto the stage before pulling her up carefully. Once they were both up, they stood up straight and dusted themselves off. The singer smiled again. "You both look lovely."

"Thank you, miss," Chaos said as he took Robyn's hand again.

The singer laughed. "So, Miss Robyn Prower… on a scale of one to ten, how confused are you right now?"

Robyn blinked. "How… how did you-"

"Come off it, dear. Everyone knows who you are, being a big hero and all that," the singer replied.

She nodded to Chaos. "In any case, your boyfriend set this whole thing up."

The grey fox turned to stare at him. "You what?"

Chaos smiled and let go of her hand. He looked at the singer. "Can I use your microphone?"

"If you break it, a certain someone will expect payment for repairs," she replied cheekily as she handed it over.

"Yeah, yeah… is everyone ready?" Chaos called out to the other musicians.

They all nodded. The singer picked a beautiful acoustic guitar up and placed the strap over her shoulder. Chaos turned back to Robyn, who looked beyond perplexed at this point. He smiled. "As you know, Robyn, we've been together for a year now. You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful and most unique woman I've ever met. You're so kind and caring, and incredibly selfless. It still amazes me to this day that I have you."

Her eyes were watering. He quickly stepped towards her and wiped her eyes with his thumb before pressing a kiss to her nose, which made the crowd go "Awwww". "So I want to perform a little song for you, and then I want to ask you a very important question."

The female singer signaled to the other musicians. "3, 2, 1! Hit it, guys!"

She started strumming her guitar. Robyn's ears twitched as she listened. Her eyes widened as she recognized the song. It was "She's Got It All" by Kenny Chesney. Her ears twitched again and she turned to see Chaos open his mouth.

_She's got every quality  
>From A all the way to Z<br>It's easy to see she's the perfect girl_

Her mouth dropped open as he sang. He sounded _amazing_. He quickly took her hand and spun her around.

_She's got every single thing  
>That makes up my wildest dreams<br>Sometimes I still can't quite believe she's holdin me cause_

_She got it all_  
><em>My heart, my soul, my wishes<em>  
><em>All of my love, my hugs, my kisses<em>  
><em>Everything that means anything at all<em>  
><em>All of my life I've spent a hopin'<em>  
><em>I could give someone such devotion<em>  
><em>Every sweet memory I can recall<em>  
><em>She got it all<em>

Her eyes watered and a smile slowly crossed over her face. The crowd was cheering loudly. Chaos grinned as he pointed to Robyn.

_You know that I admit  
>That someone to love like this<br>Only existed in my prayers_

Robyn laughed as Chaos spun her around again.

_Until I saw her face  
>I knew I'd found the place<br>Where I could keep my every faith eternally 'cause_

The female singer joined Chaos in singing the chorus.

_She got it all  
>My heart, my soul, my wishes<br>All of my love, my hugs, my kisses  
>Everything that means anything at all<br>All of my life I've spent a hopin'  
>I could give someone such devotion<br>Every sweet memory I can recall  
>She got it all<br>_

Another guitar player walked up to the female singer and started doing a bit of showing off on his own guitar. Chaos grinned as he slid down on one knee and pointed at Robyn again.

_All of my life I've spent a hopin'  
>I could give someone such devotion<br>Every sweet memory I can recall_

_All of my heart, my soul, my wishes_  
><em>All of my love, my hugs, my kisses<em>  
><em>Everything sweet memory I can recall<em>  
><em>She got it all<em>

_She's got it all_

As the song ended, Chaos remained on one knee. The crowd went nuts and the musicians bowed. Robyn was nearly crying as she smiled at her boyfriend. The female singer then motioned for the crowd to be quiet and watched the hedgehog as he grinned.

"Robyn… did you like my little performance?" he asked.

The grey fox laughed. "I did, I really did. That's probably one of the best songs out there."

"Well, I'm glad. No, that wasn't my very important question," Chaos said in a joking manner.

She tilted her head. "No? Then what?"

This was it. Chaos swallowed and slid his hand into his pocket. "Robyn… remember when I said that you are the most beautiful and special woman I've ever met?"

She nodded. The hedgehog smiled. "Well it's true. You're so beautiful, inside and out. Your kindness knows no bounds, and you put the needs of every single one of our comrades above your own. Every day you continue to amaze me…"

He pulled the velvet box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal the ring. "Robyn Isabella Prower… will you do me the honor of continuing to amaze me, by becoming my wife?"

If Robyn was wide-eyed before, then it would've seemed impossible for her to become even more so. Yet she did, staring at the beautiful engagement ring and her boyfriend smiling up at her. The whole crowd was screaming and chanting for her to say yes. Her mouth was hanging open as she slowly put a hand to it and her eyes started watering again. Her other hand moved to her heart.

"Ch… Chaos… I… yes! Yes, I will!" she shrieked as tears streamed down her face.

The crowd went ballistic upon hearing her answer. Chaos himself started crying as he jumped to his feet and slid the ring onto Robyn's finger. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She eagerly returned the embrace.

The female singer chuckled, drawing their attention. She grinned and whipped off her mask to reveal the familiar face of Braelyn Hallowcloak, a blonde ranger and their mother figure. "Congrats you two!"

Robyn nearly shrieked. "Braelyn! !"

She gently pulled away from her now-fiancé and tackled the human. "How did…!?"

"Chaos has had this planned out for about a month now. He wanted me to help him with the music," Braelyn chuckled as she hugged the fox back.

Chaos wiped his eyes and joined in the hug. "Thanks, Momma Bear…!"

She laughed. "You're welcome, kiddo."

Then she stepped back and gestured to the other musicians. They revealed themselves to be Braelyn's husband Mathius, Robyn's sister Zoey, and Chaos' brother Shadow. Robyn nearly had a heart attack. "You were all in on this?!"

"Yep. It was hard work," Zoey laughed.

They all started clapping for the couple. Chaos gently took Robyn in his arms again and smiled as he moved her bangs out of her face. She smiled, eyes still watering, and pressed her lips to his. He eagerly returned the kiss, trying to ignore the possibility of going deaf as more screaming erupted around them.

Several seconds later, he pulled away. "I love you, Robyn Isabella Prower…"

"I love you too, Chaos the Hedgehog," she whispered with a smile.

***squeeing. A lot*  
>Robyn: *red in the face*<br>SO FREAKING CUTE. I CAN'T. AHHHHHHH!  
><strong>**Robyn: Hah… um… yeah… xD *nudges me* You need to sleep, woman.  
><strong>**I know, I know. Anyway, here's the link for her engagement ring:  
><strong>www. leelstyle wp-content / uploads / 2014 / 07 / Unique-Engagement-Rings-12. Jpg **(take out the spaces).  
><strong>**See y'all later!**


	31. Zap the Babysitter

_**Christian Ape99:**_** Thank you!**

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** *squeals loudly and glomps you* STRIIIIIIIIFFFEEEEEE! ! ! :D I'm glad you liked it! It was extremely cute… I can send Alustriel to fix your cute meter! XD  
><strong>**Alustriel: *sweatdrops*  
><strong>**YOU BETTER LIVE, CAUDEX! We miss you! D:**

_**dimensionjumperal: **_**The cute is too much? xD Great, I broke both guys in the Ohana…  
><strong>**Robyn: *looks to Chaos*  
><strong>**Yes. That song. :D  
><strong>**Robyn: *is huggled and smiles***

**So I'm not exactly sure where this inspiration came from. Oh well. RANDOM INSPIRATION FTW.**

**Disclaimer:**** Eternity, Robyn, Kelly, Alustriel, Zoey, Braelyn, Mathius, and Malicai belong to me. Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog/dimensionjumperal. Zap, Katherine, and the Alvainians belong to BlackSandHeart. Sonic and co. belong to SEGA.**

_Zap the Baby-Sitter_

"Zap, we're leaving! We'll be back kind of late, so make sure that Eternity gets to bed at a decent hour!" Robyn Prower called out as she made her way down the stairs.

The first Alvainian nodded. "Have fun, you two."

The grey fox smiled gratefully at him and then looked at her four-year-old daughter. "Eternity, remember what I told you?"

"I'll be good, Mommy!" Eternity beamed.

"Good girl. Do what your godfather tells you to do, and I'll see you in the morning," Robyn said as she hugged the little fox.

"Bye Mommy!" Eternity said as her mother ruffled her fur.

Robyn turned to Zap. "Chaos and I will have our com-links on, and Braelyn said she'll check in with you in a few hours. If anything happens, ring us."

"Absolutely. Now… off you go," Zap said as he shooed her out the front door.

Robyn laughed and waved goodbye to them before she walked down to the street, where her husband Chaos was waiting for her. He grinned at her and waved to Eternity, who had run to the doorway to see her parents off. Zap stood behind her, towering over her, and he nodded to the couple. With one final grin, Chaos gently took Robyn's hand and the two disappeared in a familiar flash of golden light.

In the sudden silence, the golden cat looked to the little fox in front of him. She turned around and tilted her head up to look back at him. A grin slowly curled her lips and she grabbed his hand. "Come on Zappy! Let's play!"

_By the Light… how did I get stuck babysitting this child?_ Zap wondered in bewilderment as Eternity dragged him down the hallway.

A faint frown crossed over his face as he remembered the reason why. Somehow, EVERYONE in the group had plans that night. Alustriel and Shadow were both working late at GUN, covering a bunch of reports from the soldiers. Katherine and the other Alvainians had to keep an eye on things back in the Light dimension (they had insisted on Zap taking a break for one night). Zoey and Mathius had decided to take Kelly and Malicai out to see a movie. Everyone else was simply out and about, doing their own thing. So when Robyn and Chaos had been desperate for a babysitter so that they could have an evening to themselves, they finally turned to Zap. He would've turned down their request, but Robyn's pleading green eyes eventually got to him and he agreed to watch Eternity. He nearly chuckled as he remembered the grey fox giving him a huge hug and repeating a "Thank you Zap!" of gratitude…

Now he felt nervous. He wasn't too great with children. They usually ran away from him freaking out for one reason or another. Yet Eternity seemed to be an exception to this, for she smiled and chatted his ear off in her adorable four-year-old voice-

Yes. He had just thought that she was adorable. She was rubbing off on him. Light help him.

**-XxXxX-**

_A few hours later…_

"Eternity! Stop that!" Zap called out, exasperated.

The little fox giggled as she ran off in another direction, her hands sparking with Light energy. The golden cat sighed and ran after her. Due to Eternity having Alvainian blood and being able to control Light energy, Zap had thought it would be a good idea to train her a little bit, maybe wear her out enough so she'd go to bed without any fuss.

What Zap HADN'T counted on was her boundless supply of four-year-old hyperness.

Eternity quickly jumped onto the railing of the stairs leading to the second floor. She flipped herself over the railing and landed safely on the stairs, and then bolted upwards. While Zap was pleased that she hadn't injured herself, he was getting more and more frustrated. In public eyes she was a good little girl, but apparently behind the scenes…

"ETERNITY MARIE PROWER! What are you doing?!" a new voice yelled.

Zap nearly sighed with relief when his eyes fell upon a familiar green-eyed human with long blonde hair. "Hello Braelyn."

"Hello Zap. Having trouble?" she asked with a brief smile.

"Um… well… I wasn't, not at first. But then I started talking to her about her Light Energy…" the cat trailed off, seeing Braelyn chuckle. "What?"

"She's four years old and she has powers. Did you honestly think she would sit still for a talk about them?" she chuckled.

"… I guess not," Zap answered with a frown.

"Mmhmm. ETERNITY! Come here!" Braelyn called out.

The little fox's ears twitched and she grinned. She immediately came running down the stairs and jumped into Braelyn's arms. "GRANDMA~!"

"Hello, sweetheart. Are you having fun with Zap?" the blonde asked as she picked the girl up.

"Yup!" Eternity answered.

"Yes, well, that's good. Unfortunately it's kind of late, and you need to go to bed," Braelyn said gently.

"Aww… do I have to?" Eternity pouted.

Braelyn nodded. Eternity's ears drooped and then she looked to Zap. "Can Zappy put me to bed?"

A look of alarm crossed over the Alvainian's face. Braelyn laughed. "Sure."

Eternity grinned and grabbed Zap's hand. "Come on Zappy!"

Zap shot a Look at Braelyn as he was dragged up the stairs. "Why couldn't you have done it?!"

The ranger simply smirked and wiggled her fingers at him. "It won't kill ya, Zap!"

The Alvainian facepalmed and looked to the little fox. Luckily she was already wearing pajamas so he wouldn't have to wait for her to get changed. She led him down the hall to her room, which was across from her parents' room. "Here we are!"

Zap nodded awkwardly as he took in the pink walls and the cherry-blossom bed set. "It's uh… very nice."

Eternity giggled as she went over to her bed and climbed under the sheets. Zap followed her and gently pulled the sheets up to her shoulders before picking up a little stuffed cat he had bought her for her second birthday. He handed her the cat and she quickly wrapped her arms around it, squeezing it affectionately. "Guess what Zappy?"

"Yes?" the Alvainian said as he carefully sat down on the edge of her bed.

"This is Zappy Junior! I named him after you," Eternity beamed.

Zap blinked in obvious confusion. He looked at the cat, which had pale yellow fur and blue eyes. He had to admit that it did kinda sorta look like him, so he smiled faintly and patted Eternity's head. "I'm flattered."

Her smile grew and she rested her head on her pillow. "Zappy Junior" was tucked safely in her arms and she was comfortable. Her eyes slowly drooped, but before she fell asleep, she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Thank you godfather Zappy… I love you…"

The Alvainian blinked again as he looked down at her. Her eyes were now closed and her breathing was steady as she dreamed. A smile slowly curled Zap's lips as he smoothed her fur down, and then he leaned down to give her a small hug (a very awkward one-armed hug, but a hug nonetheless). "Sweet dreams, Eternity… my goddaughter…"

***squees. Again. A lot*  
><strong>**Eternity: *pokes her head in* Why are you squeeing?  
><strong>**Your four-year-old self was adorable :'D  
><strong>**Eternity: Oh. xD  
><strong>**Anywho… yeah. Random inspiration. And NaNoWriMo is slowly coming to an end… I am nowhere finished D: oh well. I blame school. Laterz!**


	32. My Little Girl

_**dimensionjumperal: **_**Telling Zap to deal with it is like… um… shoot, I had an example…  
><strong>***looks at Chaos and rolls my eyes knowingly* Uh huh :P  
><strong>**Yes she is :3 *pets Eternity and joins you in ze quiet squee-ing***

**So this isn't exactly the one-shot I was talking about at the end of the last one, but I HAVE been meaning to write this one and so I did. I thank Amicus and Anahita for doing a word war with me :D **

**Disclaimer:**** I own Robyn, Eternity, and the mentioning of Zoey. Zap and Windy belong to BlackSandHeart. Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog. Dash belongs to Sky the Echidna. "My Little Girl" belongs to Tim McGraw (GO LISTEN TO IT. IT IS BEAUTIFUL.)**

_My Little Girl_

Eternity twirled around in her new outfit: a knee-length black skirt, a blouse that matched the blueness of her eyes, and black ankle boots. The sleeves of the blouse went to her elbows and were ruffled on the ends. The skirt had two layers; the top layer was see-through and had a shimmery gold effect on it while the bottom layer was a solid black skirt. She had a single diamond stud in her right ear (courtesy of her Aunt Zoey) and around her neck was a golden heart necklace- the same one Chaos had given to Robyn on their first date.

Robyn smiled at her. "You look beautiful."

"Really? It's not too much?" Eternity asked as she fiddled with the necklace.

"Not at all. It's classy and elegant. I wouldn't expect anything less," the older grey fox said as she hugged her daughter.

Eternity smiled as she returned the hug. "Thanks, Mom…"

The bedroom door swung open and Chaos walked in with a glass of apple juice in his hand. His eyes fell upon his wife and daughter and he smiled. "There's my two favorite girls in the world."

Robyn's smile grew as she walked over and kissed his cheek. "Hey honey."

Eternity grinned and clasped her hands together as Chaos tilted his head to kiss Robyn on the lips. Here she was, barely sixteen years old, and her parents were still the perfect example of timeless love. She could see it in their eyes when they looked at each other. Seventeen years together and they still looked at each other like it was only the two of them in their own little world. She hoped that she would be that lucky someday.

Their love was actually the reason behind her name. Her godparents, Zap and Windy, told her that Chaos had always said that he'd love Robyn for eternity because "always" was too short. When Robyn had found out that she was going to be having a daughter, she told Chaos that there was only one name that could fit their baby girl who was going to be born out of a love that would last infinitely.

Eternity.

"Hi Dad," the smaller fox beamed as she went to hug the hedgehog.

Chaos hugged her back, smoothing her hair down in the process. "Hey kiddo. What're you all dressed up for?"

"I'm going out for a couple hours," Eternity replied.

The Original Lifeform raised an eyebrow. "With whom? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to a movie… with… um… I'm going with Dash…" Eternity mumbled as she glanced away from her father and took a few steps back.

Chaos went still for a moment. His expression went from processing the information, to confused, to surprised, and finally to deadly calm. "So… a date. With Sonic's son."

Eternity nodded slowly and looked at Robyn. The older fox was watching her husband and had her arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah…"

"When were you going to inform me of this 'date'?" Chaos asked sternly.

The younger fox's ears flattened against her head. "Um… well…"

"Eternity Marie Prower. Answer me," the hedgehog said with a trace of annoyance.

"… Okay, I wasn't going to tell you. I was gonna have Mom tell you after I left, and only if you asked where I was," Eternity sighed in defeat.

Chaos blinked. "Why…?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't approve. You NEVER approve of any boy that I want to go out with. Especially Dash, and he's my best friend," Eternity said as she crossed her arms.

Chaos opened his mouth. "You're only sixteen-"

"Spare me the 'You're not old enough to date' talk, Dad! I'm only a year younger than Mom was when she started dating you! You just want me stay a little kid forever, but now that I'm growing up you're scared!" Eternity shot at him.

Chaos went silent. He stared at his daughter, his pride and joy, and silently marveled at how right she was. She was two years away from adulthood. The very thought terrified him. Soon enough she would be falling in love and then she'd be getting engaged. Then married… then, sure enough, he'd be a grandpa. He nearly paled at the thought. However, as much as he didn't want her to grow up, he couldn't stop her. Not forever.

Eternity shook her head. "You can't keep trying to 'shield' me, Dad. I-"

Chaos cut her off as he stepped towards her and wrapped her in an hug. He rocked her back and forth a little before he started softly singing.

_Gotta hold on easy as I let you go_

_Gonna tell you how much I love you, though you think you already know_

_I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm_

_You've had me wrapped around your finger, since the day you were born…_

Eternity's ears twitched as she stared at her dad. The song was "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw, a song that Robyn's author Russia **(A/N: That's me!)** loved oh so very much. It managed to bring her to tears every time she listened to it… but how did Chaos manage to learn it?

_You're beautiful baby from the outside in_

_Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again_

_Go on, take on this whole world_

_But to me you know you'll always be… my little girl…_

Chaos' eyes were watering as he quietly sang the last two lines in her ear. He clenched his eyes shut and hugged his daughter tightly, feeling a couple of stray tears run down his face. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You're right. But you have to admit, what dad wants to see their little girl grow up so quickly…?"

He pulled back so he could look at her face. The face that was pretty much the spitting image of her mother, with the exception of her eyes and the black streaks in her hair. He smiled softly as he placed a hand on his daughter's cheek and stroked it with his thumb. She looked at him with a wonder in her blue eyes that never seemed to cease to exist. "Dad…?"

He kissed her forehead. "Have fun with Dash. Okay?"

She slowly grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "I will, Daddy! I will!"

She planted a big kiss on his cheek before running out the door excitedly. The hedgehog smiled at being called "Daddy"- she hadn't called him that in a long time. Being a teenager meant being called "Dad" in order to maintain a cool image, he supposed.

Chaos stood up straight and turned to his wife, who was smiling at him. "I'm proud of you."

He walked over and took her in his arms, placing a tender kiss on her jawline as he moved her hair out of the way. "I have you to thank for it. All of it."

"Hmm?" she sighed as she returned his embrace.

"For blessing me with her," the hedgehog said as he looked into the fox's dark green eyes.

He smiled faintly. "And for being the best and most beautiful wife a guy could have ever asked for."

Robyn blushed as he pressed a brief but sweet kiss to her lips. "I love you too, honey…"

The two turned to the window of the bedroom. They peered out just in time to see their daughter run up to Dash and hug him tightly. Dash was almost an exact replica of his father Sonic, but he had his mother's blue eyes. He smiled at Eternity and said something to her that caused her to blush slightly. The two turned away from the mansion and began walking down the street. As they got further down the street, Robyn saw Dash take Eternity's hand and she smiled.

Her husband blinked at her. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing, dear. Just a potential relationship in the works," she said before pressing her lips to his.

**FLUFF. SO MUCH FLUFF. *is squeeing***

**Yeah, I've been wanting to write a Chaos and Eternity one-shot for a while- on how he would react to his daughter going on a date xD I think I pulled it off with lots and lots of fluff. *squee***

**Next one-shot SHOULD be the other one I've been meaning to write…!**


	33. A Classic Game

_**Christian Ape99: **_**Thanks for the feedback~**

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** Shame on you, laziness is not okay :P  
><strong>**WHY ARE YOU READING THIS IN CLASS YOU CAUDEX?! XD  
><strong>**Robyn/Eternity: *huggled*  
><strong>**GLAD YOU LOVED IT! :D**

**Oh inspiration… you're such a random creature. xD **

**Disclaimer:**** Chase, Jackson, Katherine, and the mentioning of Zap belong to BlackSandHeart. Alustriel, Kelly, Zoey, Robyn, and the mentioning of Braelyn and Vlad belong to me. Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog. Everyone else belongs to SEGA. "I Want It That Way" is by Backstreet Boys.**

_A Classic Game_

"So… what's the point of this game?" a white and black cat asked as he looked to a red fox with wild grey highlights.

She grinned back at him. "You get to learn things about the people closest to you that you may have never learned otherwise. If you ask them a question, they have to answer it. If you dare them to do something, they have to do it."

"But why?" the Staryian asked with obvious confusion.

She chuckled and ruffled his fur. "It's fun."

"Oy! Zoey!" he protested as he swatted at her hand.

"Oy! Chase!" she mocked as she continued going for the fur.

"Will you two stop flirting long enough to pay attention?" a grey fox with dark green eyes demanded from the other side of the circle.

Zoey immediately shot her sister a Look. "Like you haven't been flirting with Chaos the entire night, Robyn!"

Robyn opened her mouth to protest, but Chase cut her off by putting an arm around Zoey and scratching under her chin like she was a cat. "We make it look so good though~!"

Zoey emitted an odd noise that sounded like a squeak and an "EHH!?" combined. Her muzzle turned as red as her fur as everyone in the circle started going "OHHHH!" and laughing. She turned her head to glare at Chase and blinked when she found his face close to hers. He grinned innocently and tapped her nose playfully. "You know you love me."

"OKAY, you two! Let's get this started!" Robyn's fiancé Chaos exclaimed as he clapped his hands together.

Chase removed his arm from around the fox and looked at the hedgehog. "So how do we decide who goes first?"

"Oh! Oh! I volunteer!" Sonic the Hedgehog called as he waved his hand around.

Chaos grinned. "Go ahead, Blue."

"Hmmm… hm, hm, hm. Katherine! Truth or dare?" the blue hedgehog asked.

The black cat tapped her fingers together thoughtfully. "Truth."

"Are you secretly going out with Silver?" Sonic immediately asked.

Katherine's face turned an interesting shade of red. Chaos scowled. "Sonic! You stole my question!"

Sonic grinned and stuck his tongue out at the red hedgehog before returning his attention to Katherine. "If you don't answer the question, I shall be forced to dare you."

"Ugh… yes!" Katherine admitted before hiding her face in Robyn's shoulder.

"HAH!" Sonic clapped his hands together triumphantly before pointing a finger at Shadow the Hedgehog. "You owe me fifty rings, Faker!"

Shadow stared at Katherine, eyes glowering. "YOU'RE DATING POTHEAD?!"

Katherine groaned. "Robyn, save me now."

The grey fox giggled. "I think you're on your own for this one. Besides, it's Silver who should be worried when he comes by."

"Guys! Calm yourselves!" a dark grey cat with weird-looking ears spoke up.

"Jackson! Truth or dare?" Katherine quickly inquired in order to distract her ebony brother, who was STILL scowling at her.

"Uh… truth," he said after a few seconds.

"All right~! What was the most embarrassing thing that you ever did?" Katherine asked.

Jackson froze. Chase started laughing. "Tell 'em!"

"Ugh… I tried to figure out how to fight with a sword against Zap. It… didn't go too well," the grey cat said while hiding his face in his hands.

Chaos started laughing. "You tried to sword fight with ZAP?"

"Chase was there. Him dying of laughter should tell you everything," Jackson said as he scowled at his best friend, who was now laying on his back in hysterics.

The white cat sat up, wiping his eyes. "It was beautiful."

"So, Chase! Truth or dare?" Jackson asked as a few of the others started giggling.

"Dare, Jacky-boy!" Chase said proudly.

Jackson scowled again at the nickname. "I dare you to sing part of a Backstreet Boys song to one of the girls in the room."

"… Why the Backstreet Boys?! Jacky-boy! How could you do this to me?!" Chase cried out as he put his hand to his heart in a dramatic fashion.

"Stop calling me that!" Jackson groaned.

The white cat shook his head as he sat on his knees and examined the girls in the room. He turned to Zoey and slowly grinned before standing up and stretching his hand out to her. She blinked and took his hand, yelping softly as he pulled her to her feet. He quickly put his arm around her waist and tipped her back slightly before opening his mouth.

_You are my fire  
>The one desire<br>Believe when I say  
>I want it that way<em>

_But we are two worlds apart_  
><em>Can't reach to your heart<em>  
><em>When you say<em>  
><em>That I want it that way<em>

_{Chorus}  
>Tell me why<br>Ain't nothin' but a heartache  
>Tell me why<br>Ain't nothin' but a mistake  
>Tell me why<br>I never wanna hear you say  
>I want it that way…<em>

Zoey's face turned red again as Chase smirked at her. Several more "Oooooohhhhh~!"s echoed throughout the room and Chaos could be heard clapping with a smug look on his face. "Excellent!"

"You made her blush! Oh my god, you made her blush!" Kelly the Echidna squealed.

Zoey quickly propped herself back up on her feet and stared at Chase. The cat looked back at her and noticed her eyes. The light from the room was bouncing off of her eyes, making them look a lot more blue than normal. She'd always had pretty eyes, but now they seemed even prettier…

Wait… did he just think her eyes were pretty? Twice?

He gently let go of her, trying to ignore the fact that his face was probably a faint shade of pink. Zoey sat back down, her ears twitching as her friends and family chattered around her. She barely paid attention as a few more people took their turns. Then Chase had to tap her on the shoulder. "Zoey."

She blinked. "Hm…?"

"Truth or dare, my dear?"

"… Dare."

Robyn grinned across from her. "Zoey never backs down from a dare."

Chase smirked. "Well then. I dare youuu… to take off your shirt."

A couple of people gasped, eyes widening. Zoey raised an eyebrow, partially unamused. "That all you got, Chase?"

She quickly yanked her black v-neck shirt off… to reveal a dark grey tank top underneath it. She ran her fingers through her hair and smirked at Chase's "Well I'll be damned" expression. "I could come up with better dares in my sleep."

"Is that a challenge?" Chase asked, a smirk nearly curling his lips.

"Chase… truth or dare?" Zoey grinned.

He leaned in close to her face and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Dare."

"I dare you to go into Alustriel's closet and sing the rest of 'I Want It That Way' at the top of your lungs," the red fox said nonchalantly.

Chase's eyes widened. "She's not here, is she?!"

"Not at the moment, no. Scared?" Zoey asked innocently.

"Hah! You wish, Prower," Chase shot back.

Without warning he stood up and quickly picked her up bridal-style. "You're coming with me though!"

"CHASE! PUT ME DOWN!" Zoey shouted as he zipped out of the room.

The others watched the two disappear around the corner. Chaos turned to Robyn with a cheeky grin on his face. "Can I pull a disappearing act like that with you slung over my shoulders?"

"Caudex," the grey fox giggled as she playfully hit his shoulder.

**-XxXxX-**

"CAUDEX!" Zoey yelped as Chase dumped her on the floor of Alustriel's closet.

Chase laughed. "Door open or closed?"

"Open, so the others can hear you shrieking," the red fox replied as she sat up.

"Suit yourself," the white cat said before clearing his throat.

_Am I your fire?  
>Your one desire?<br>Yes I know, it's too late  
>But I want it that way<em>

Zoey started giggling as Chase practically screamed the song. He started doing a little dance to go with the chorus, which only made her laugh harder. Once he got through the chorus, he turned to her with a serious expression. He knelt down on his knees in front of her and put a hand on her cheek.

_Now I can see that we've fallen apart  
>From the way that it used to be, yeah<br>No matter the distance, I want you to know that  
>Deep down inside of me…<em>

His voice lowered slightly as he pulled his hand away from her blushing face.

_You are my fire…  
>The one desire…<br>You are, (you are, you are, you are…)_

He leaned in close to her face again. For a split second, Zoey seriously thought that he would try and kiss her. She wasn't sure why she thought that, but it was the first thing that came to mind…

… Until he raised his voice and jumped back up to his feet.

_Don't wanna hear you say!_

_Ain't nothin' but a heartache  
>(Yeah)<br>Ain't nothin' but a mistake  
>(Don't wanna hear you say)<br>I never wanna hear you say  
>(Oh, yeah)<br>I want it that way_

_{Repeat Chorus x2}_

_'Cause I… want it that way!_

The red fox stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head and putting her hands up. "All right. I'll give it to you… even though kidnapping me was not part of the dare."

He smirked as he sat back down. "Good."

"… We can go back to the others, you know," she said after a moment of silence.

Chase petted her face. "Shhh. I'm trying to see something."

He looked into her eyes again, noting that with the light in the closet, her eyes seemed darker depending on the angle. She really did have beautiful eyes. She was also kinda cute when her face got all red and embarrassed…

"Now whaddya blushing for, sweetheart?" he said as he tilted his head to the side.

"Oh I dunno, maybe because you've been staring at me for whatever reason?" she deadpanned.

"I'm not allowed to look at a gorgeous woman like yourself?" Chase grinned.

She blinked. "You think I'm gorgeous…?"

"Absolutely. Especially your eyes…" Chase trailed off and smiled. "Your eyes are amazing."

"Thanks… no one's commented on my eyes before. Well, except for my siblings, and…" Zoey bit her lip nervously, unsure as to whether or not she should say anything else.

Chase picked up on her uncertainty. "And…?"

"My, um… my ex. Before he turned abusive. He used to admire my eyes, said they were like two little sapphires," the fox said quietly.

The cat went silent. He hadn't known that she'd previously been in a relationship, much less an abusive one. "He abused you…?"

She slowly nodded. "Then he did to me what Vlad did to Braelyn… and he got me pregnant because of it."

Chase's blue eyes widened. Zoey swallowed and looked down at her hands. "The abuse started sometime before that, but after it happened… it got worse. When I was four months pregnant, he pushed me. I tripped and fell down the stairs… started having contractions. I lost my babies that night in the hospital…"

"You were gonna have twins?" Chase asked.

"Yeah…" Zoey sighed shakily.

The cat's hands slowly clenched into fists. Zoey was like his partner in crime, aside from Jackson. He had quickly grown attached to her because of their similar interests and senses of humor. To hear that she'd had a bit of a rough past made him sick. "What happened to the guy…?"

She didn't look up. "Alustriel had him taken care of."

The way she said it made Chase shiver a little. Alustriel was the commander of GUN- kinda a cold and calculating woman. There were many ways she could've "had him taken care of", and none of the options coming to mind were very nice. "How long ago was that?"

"About four years," Zoey said quietly.

Chase stared at her for a few seconds before he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She blinked as he smoothed her hair down and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Zoe…"

"There's no way you would've known, Chase. Don't be sorry," she told him.

"Still, you didn't deserve that. A woman like you deserves so much more," Chase said sincerely.

"A woman like me? What does that even mean?" Zoey asked.

He smiled and smoothed her hair down again. "Smart, sassy, fun to be around, creative, and beautiful…"

Her cheeks quickly darkened again as he tilted her chin up. It looked like he was about to lean in… or was he? Staryians were kind of awkward on displays of affection…

_YOLO,_ her mind told her as she quickly pressed her lips to his in a two-second kiss.

Then her eyes widened as she looked behind him. "Um… Chase… behind you…"

The cat turned around and nearly freaked out when he saw a blue fox with brown eyes that looked like they could kill. "Um… hey, Alustriel!"

"What are you doing with my sister?" Alustriel demanded as she put her hands on her hips.

"N-Nothing! Just playing Truth or Dare. S-She dared me to come in here and finish singing a song! We're going back to the others now!" Chase rambled as he quickly stood up with Zoey in his arms.

He quickly zipped out of the room, ignoring Zoey's yelps of "PUT ME DOWN DANGIT!" and her shrieks of his name. Alustriel watched the two vanish and glared towards her bed, where her work materials had been placed. She quickly changed into more comfortable clothes, all the while plotting to make sure that Chase behaved himself around Zoey…

**This is what happens when I write at 3:30am xD**

***goes to hide somewhere in case Chase kills me for this***


	34. Her or Me

_**Chaotic Hedgehog:**_** You lazy child! :P  
><strong>***pets Chaos* Yes. Yes he is.  
><strong>**Zoey: *gives you a long Look*  
><strong>**I ship it too :D Unite in the shipping!**

_**MarsTwilight**_**: Thank you!**

**So, this one… well. I'll just let you guys get to the reading.**

**Disclaimer:**** Eternity belongs to me. Amare belongs to Amicus Mortis. Zap, Father Darkness, and Boom belong to BlackSandHeart. **

**Note, Eternity is 13 in this. This story is also kinda AU-ish from the main cannon established by the Ohana.**

_Her or Me_

Never had I been so terrified in my life.

I glanced over to Amare, who was being held in the same restricted position as I was. We were both completely bound and helpless. Whatever FD was using on the restraints was blocking out my abilities, as well as hers. I'd lost track of how long we'd been kept here. Hours? Days? It felt like forever. With each passing minute, my sense of dread continued to grow.

"Eternity… it's going to be okay," Amare tried to assure me with a weak smile.

I didn't answer her. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to speak. Well, I could, I just didn't want to. Instead I closed my eyes and wished for help to arrive soon…

"FATHER DARKNESS!"

My eyes flew open as I recognized the voice. _Zap…!_

There was no mistaking it, that was the voice of my godfather. And boy, did he sound _pissed_. My heart did a little leap and a small smile grew on my face. I'm pretty sure Amare was smiling too, but I didn't look over at her. My ears twitched at the sound of footsteps in the hallway, and then the door flew off its hinges.

Amare and I both yelped as the door landed between us. We looked at the broken door, then at each other, and then back towards the hallway. A familiar golden cat with dark blue eyes and a zigzag scar stood there, breathing heavily. His eyes were overwhelmingly blue with anger. "Amare…! Eternity!"

"Zap!" we cried together.

He entered the room and stopped short as another familiar figure shrouded in darkness (how fitting) appeared in front of him. He smiled cruelly. "Hello, Zap."

"FD!" Zap snarled.

"Did you not think that I'd be aware of your presence? Zap, Zap, you're losing your touch," Father Darkness said quietly as he turned and walked towards us.

"Leave them alone," Zap spat as his hands twitched.

The black cat said nothing in response as he stopped in front of Amare. He looked her over once, then did the same thing to me. "I wonder, Zap… who would be more important to you?"

Zap blinked with confusion. "What?"

"Your lover, or your goddaughter? Who would you choose?" Father Darkness asked as he pressed a button in the pocket of his cloak.

Electric bolts were suddenly sent flying through our systems; Amare and I _screamed_. Zap yelled something in Alvainian as he yanked his sword out and pointed it at FD. "STOP IT!"

Another cruel smirk curled Father Darkness' lips as he released the button. The pain stopped but Amare and I were still shaking from the impact. Zap looked at us worriedly, though his eyes remained on Amare longer. Then he shook his head and glared at FD. "Let them go. _Now._"

"You didn't answer my question," the black cat simply replied as he walked around my godfather.

"I'm not answering that. They're both important to me," Zap growled.

"But if you could only save one?" FD questioned as he disappeared into the shadows.

Zap looked around wildly, his sword still in hand. "What?!"

"I'm giving you a choice here, Zap. Before you stands your lover and your goddaughter. You can only save one of them. The other one… well. You shall find out what happens when you make your decision," FD's voice echoed.

The look on Zap's face made my heart drop into my stomach. He looked absolutely horrified. I glanced over to Amare, who also shared his expression. Zap swallowed thickly. "Why…?"

Father Darkness said nothing. Zap's hands began shaking as he put his sword away. "Why would you do this?!"

"Because I know it is the one thing you fear. Having to choose whose life is more important to you; the life of a child from Cor, or the life of the girl who has become your goddaughter. No matter what decision you make, you'll live with the outcome for the rest of time. It'll cripple you from the inside out until you beg for the end," FD said and I could practically feel the cruelness in his voice.

Amare struggled in her binds. "You can't do this!"

"I can, and I have," FD hissed, sounding like he was standing right next to her.

She shrieked as she looked for him. Zap immediately went over to her, putting his arms around her protectively. The tenderness in his embrace was so obvious that my ears flattened against my head. He might not have known right then, but I knew exactly who he would save.

And it broke my heart.

He glanced over to me, noticing my expression. "Eternity…?"

I swallowed. "Zap…"

He let go of Amare and walked over to me, hugging me as well. "I'll find a way out of this. I promise I will."

I shook my head. "You can't… Staryia dangit Zap, you can't…"

"I WILL. Over my dead body am I leaving either one of you with him," he said fiercely.

I didn't know why, but I started crying. "Just choose her, Zap…"

He looked at me with bewildered eyes. "Wh… What…?"

"Choose Amare… she's your lover, she's been your lover longer than I've been your goddaughter," I choked out.

"You realize that your parents chose me as your godfather for a reason!? What am I supposed to tell them if I return without you?!" he demanded.

"And what will Amare's team do if you don't return with her?!" I shot back.

Poor Amare finally figured out what we were talking about and she shook her head at me. "No, no, Eternity, don't do that."

I wiggled my hand uselessly to try and shush her. I kept my focus on Zap, who was still looking at me stupefied. "Choose her, Zap. It's meant to be."

A single tear slid down Zap's face. "Eternity…"

"FATHER DARKNESS! HE CHOOSES AMARE!" I yelled as I broke out into fresh tears.

A chill came over the area, and then I was burning. Burning, burning, burning. Flames licked at my body and I screamed as I fell through the floor into the hell below. I could hear Zap screaming my name above me and Amare was silent, Father Darkness was laughing and I was dying. My fur turned black and my insides were roasted. I was falling, falling, falling…

"ETERNITY!"

My eyes suddenly shot open and I bolted upright. I felt my hands grab something soft and then I launched it at whoever was yelling my name. I was hyperventilating and horribly disoriented. Where was I?

"Oy… that was uncalled for," a familiar voice grumbled.

I blinked a few times. "B… Boom…?"

As soon as my heart rate went down a little, my focus became a little clearer. I was in my bedroom, with cherry-red walls and plastic stars on the ceiling (something I picked up from my best friend Ana when I was little). I was wearing my pajamas; a black lace tank top and dark blue sweatpants with my hair up in a ponytail. Sitting on the edge of my bed, now holding my extra pillow, was Boom. He looked at me with concern in his brown eyes. "Are you okay? I heard you thrashing about and screaming something about Father Darkness…"

I put a hand to my head. "It… it was a dream then…?"

I examined myself. No burnt fur. My insides felt perfectly normal (aside from my heart still beating a little faster but I was still calming down). I looked back at Boom. "Sorry… I guess I was dreaming. It felt so _real_ though…"

He returned my pillow to me and tilted his head, studying my face. "It must've felt like it if you were screaming as loudly as you were. I was expecting Chaos or Zap to beat me to your room but it seems like everyone's outside or something…"

Hearing Zap's name made my ears flatten. "Zap's here?"

"Well, yeah. Are you sure you're okay, Eternity? Do you want me to go get him?" Boom asked.

"No!" In a panic I found myself grabbing Boom's wrist. "No. No. Don't."

He blinked and looked down at his wrist. I shook my head and released him, running my hand through my ponytail. "Sorry…"

He returned his gaze to my face and was quiet. I knew he felt kind of awkward around me for a few reasons. One of them was the fact that Ana had a thing for him. The other reason was that he constantly irritated me as a child. I didn't remember half the stuff he did (it was probably really stupid), but I just couldn't stand him while I was growing up. Eventually he stopped being around me less and less. Today was actually the first day I'd seen him in a while.

"I'm surprised you don't want me to get him. He's your godfather, you get so happy and smiley whenever he's here," Boom said, breaking me from my thoughts.

I shrugged. The Alvainian frowned. "Was… your nightmare about him? Is that why?"

"… If you had to choose between the two most important people in the world to save, would you?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer me. I swallowed. "Or would one of them have to make the decision for you because they knew that you would save the other over them…?"

"… Is this about Zap and Amare?" Boom asked gently.

I slowly nodded, feeling my heart lurch in my chest. "Father Darkness had us both and he was making Zap choose who he would save, me or Amare… and it was so obvious that he'd choose Amare over me so I chose for him and it was awful…"

To my surprise, he pulled me to him and put an arm around me. "Eternity, Eternity… why on Earth would you think that Zap would choose Amare over you?"

"She's his lover… she's been his lover longer than he's been my godfather. He's always with her, and it seems like he's never okay unless she's here, and, and…" I trailed off, feeling myself getting worked up.

Boom was quiet again. "You're jealous?"

"… I can't be… can I? I like Amare. She DOES make him happy. And she's nice…" I frowned. "Is it jealousy?"

"It sure sounds like it. You're jealous that he spends more time with her than he does with you, and clearly it's been bothering you a while if that dream was that intense," Boom said as he patted my head.

I scratched behind my ear idly. "I… I guess so…"

He smiled faintly. "Did you get all of that, Zap?"

I looked up, eyes wide. My godfather was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, staring at me. A frown curled his lips. "I did…"

Surprisingly, Boom hugged me (granted it was with the arm he already had around me but still) and then stood up. "I'll leave you two alone."

He nodded to Zap, ruffled my hair, and left the room. I quickly looked down at my hands, feigning interest in my nails. My ears twitched as Zap walked across the floor and then sat on my bed, causing my mattress to groan. The thing was old and needed to be replaced. For a moment we sat there in silence as I picked at my nails, trying to ignore the expression Zap was giving me.

Finally he sighed. "Eternity. Look at me."

I bit my lip, fearing what would happen if I did look at him. I gave in though, and turned my head. His blue eyes met my own, searching them. "Eternity, why didn't you say something sooner?"

I quickly looked away, trying to fight a few tears that were building up. "I… I don't know… I guess I tried to play it off like it didn't bother me… so that I wouldn't seem like a spoiled brat… I do like her, Zap, I really really do, she's nice and she makes you happy… I just miss you sometimes… I never get to do anything with you anymore because she's always there... and I guess it's just gotten to be so normal that I feel like you'd choose her over me any day…"

I suddenly found myself squished against Zap's chest as he hugged me tightly. He sighed and dipped his head down to press a light, fatherly kiss to the top of my head. "Oh, Eternity. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault though…! It's a lover's thing, isn't it?" I asked.

"That doesn't excuse the fact that I'm not doing a good job at being your godfather. Your happiness should be at the top of my list along with Amare's, and clearly I've been failing at that if you've been so miserable about me not being around. So I'm sorry, kiddo," Zap said as he patted my back.

He pulled back to look at me. "Can you forgive me?"

I nodded and smiled faintly as I hugged him back. "Of course I can, Zap. You're my godfather regardless and I love you very much."

A smile slowly grew on his face and he ruffled my hair. "You're a good kid, Eternity. It's been my honor and pleasure to be your godfather."

"That aside, will you people PLEASE quit messing up my hair?!" I whined as I tried to fix it.

Zap burst out laughing and tousled my hair up again. "It's fun though to see you get all bothered about it!"

"ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!" I yelped as I swatted at his hands.

His laughter was contagious though and I couldn't help but giggle. Boom appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at both of us. "What's so funny?"

I immediately put my hands on my hair to prevent Zap from messing with it. "He's messing up my hair!"

"… Oh really? You mean like this?" Boom grinned as he teleported over, moved my hands away, and ruffled my hair.

"BOOM! STOP IT!" I squealed.

Now Boom was laughing as he continued to mess up my hair while Zap was practically dying next to me. He managed to join Boom though and soon enough I was trying to swat both of them to get them to stop. All three of us ended up laughing so hard that we fell backwards on my bed, trying to catch our breath.

Once we were calm, Boom gently petted my face. "Y'know, you're not so bad."

"And you're still annoying," I grinned as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh you know you love me," he said while making a face.

Zap chuckled and sat up, pulling me with him. "What do you say, Eternity? Can I take my favorite goddaughter out for the day?"

"I'm your ONLY goddaughter, caudex!" I laughed.

"My offer still stands. Unless you want me to take Boom instead," he smirked.

"Okay okay okay! Yes! You can!" I said as I threw my arms around him to claim ownership of "favorite goddaughter".

Boom smirked. "You can take me out another day, Zap."

"Pfft. Whatever. Come on, Eternity. Get dressed," Zap said as he got up and walked to the door, motioning for Boom to follow him.

Boom grinned as he followed, giving me a two-finger salute on the way out. He closed the door behind him and I smiled to myself. He really wasn't a bad guy. I could see why Ana liked him. As I got dressed I made a mental note to stop giving her such a hard time about him.

I also made a mental note to drag Zap to the mall today, at all costs.

**On a scale of 1 to can't, how are you?**

**I'm probably gonna get some "RUSSIA I LOVE YOU AND HATE YOU SO MUCH" from my siblings… :P**

**Anyway, laterz!**


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